Seclusion
by Loveon
Summary: It was supposed to be a vacation, to take a break from all those challenges and training. People weren't supposed to start being murdered during a fun vacation. It wasn't supposed to end up like this.
1. Prologue

Author's Notes: **As of 10/19/14, this chapter has been rewritten. With a new author's note, instead of that... other one.**

Ah, the third year anniversary of this story passed a few days ago... I thought I should get on rewriting this story.

This is more horror-filled than my previous Pokespe story The Wish (which was, I will admit with embarrassment, not very scary), but it's also a mystery... But whether you find it scary or not just depends on you, I suppose. If people mysteriously dying is your cup of tea (or coffee *shot*) then read on.

This was also inspired, way back then, by a game/anime/manga by the name of Umineko no Naku Koro ni, but only as far as them being on an island and people dying... And a reviewer later asked if it was going to be similar to Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None". And I then bought the book, read it, and realized that it is quite similar to that story.

I highly suggest not reading the reviews, because people mention spoilers related to recent chapters. Such as the end of the story. But if you want the mystery ruined, go ahead. Or just sort the reviews based on chapter.

* * *

><p>Prologue<p>

"Eh? A vacation?"

Green nodded, showing the black-haired boy standing in the house entrance the thin piece of paper in his hand. "All of us Pokédex holders were invited by Grandfather," he said. "He already paid for the tickets."

"So... I can come, right?"

"Red, I just said..." Green stopped whatever it was he was about to say and shook his head. "Never mind. The ship leaves tomorrow, off to some secluded island.

"Secluded?"

"As in, it's far away from the mainland and there are no other islands around it. It's only that island. That's it."

Red nodded, a bit too eagerly. "Got it! Tomorrow... Tomorrow..."

* * *

><p>The next day was sunny, the skies clear, as Red waited in the Vermillion City port. Professor Oak's invitation had extended not only to the Sinnoh Pokédex holders (who stood there nervously, watching their fellow Dex holders) but to Bill as well. A quick glance around showed that the Hoenn Pokédex holders, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, were also there. Crystal stood with the three of them, but Gold and Silver were nowhere around. Neither were Blue and Yellow, he noticed.<p>

Dex holders... a term they used amongst themselves to refer to trainers who were lucky enough to receive a Pokédex. There were quite a few of them around the world with Pokédexes. Red had met the Hoenn Dex holders before, but the Sinnoh trio he had not. Come to think of it, how had they gotten to Kanto so quickly...?

"Huh. Wonder why the old professor did this out of the blue," Red mumbled. "Well, whatever! It's worth it! Everyone needs a vacation once in a while, right?" Red glanced down at the six Poké Balls attached to his belt. A few of them rattled in response to this; his Pokémon were just as excited about the vacation as he was.

Red stood there in silence, thinking over the various thoughts that traveled through his mind. He'd packed everything he needed, said goodbye to his mother, and then double-checked on the way to Vermillion to make sure that he really did have everything.

Red gulped and looked back down at the red suitcase that sat there next to him. He _did_ have everything, didn't he? Well, it wouldn't pay to check...

Just as Red started unzipping his suitcase, a cold voice spoke to him.

"What _are_ you doing."

"Er." Red looked up to see Green standing there. His rival and friend's brown, spiked hair was just as positively spiky as usual. "I just wanted to make sure I had everything."

"Isn't it a bit late to check your bags now?"

"It's _never_ too late for anything?"

"Why are you answering my question with a question?"

Red didn't answer him. He'd just noticed a group of people approaching them. "HEY! Over here, guys!"

Green turned around to see who was coming. Blue, Yellow, Gold, and Silver were finally joining them. Blue and Gold both held onto one of Silver's arms as they approached. Apparently, the red-haired boy, dressed in black of all things, didn't want to be there, but Gold and Blue had clearly forced him to come.

"Looks like everyone's here now, right?" Blue said. She pushed up the brim of her white hat with a free hand. She smiled from ear to ear, and Red couldn't help but think that nothing good ever came out of a smile like that.

On Blue's other side was Yellow. She tugged on the side of her large straw hat, glancing around at everyone gathered there. Then she looked back at Red and Green, giving them a smile.

"Good morning, Red, Green!"

"You know," Blue continued, "I really do like taking a free vacation every once in a while."

"Why?" Green asked. "Because you don't have to pay for it yourself?"

Silver shot a glare at Green, but the older boy completely ignored the look and kept his eyes on Blue, waiting for whatever response she was going to give him.

In typical Blue fashion, she smiled and said, "That's _exactly_ why! You're so _smart,_ Green."

Green just stared at Blue, apparently unsure of what to make of that last part.

Gold had ditched on holding Silver back to rush at the Sinnoh trio. Green's sister Daisy had just exited one of the buildings, and was speaking to the Sinnoh trio as well.

"Looks like everyone has gathered. Perfect."

Red turned in the direction of the new voice. The old professor of the Kanto region, Professor Oak, stood by the pier, next to a boat. Red thought that Professor Oak was the most excited of them all, dressed in a bright shirt with colorful leaves printed across it, and grinning even wider than Blue usually did. He couldn't blame him. His job was the hardest of them all, with all those... professorly duties he did. Whatever duties those were. Making new Pokédexes, he supposed. And-

"Red? What're you just standing there for?"

Red blinked in surprise. Everyone else was already on the boat, save for Blue and Green, who was staring at him. Blue was looking at him in concern, and Green looked like he knew that Red had been lost completely in his thoughts.

"Right, right, sorry!"

Red grabbed his suitcase and rushed onto the boat. And less than five minutes later, the boat was zooming off across the ocean.

Red looked around and everyone that was there. Blue, Green, Yellow... and including himself, that made the Kanto Four, as he secretly called them. Gold, Silver, Crystal – the Johto Trio. Ruby, Saphpire, Emerald – Hoenn Trio. Uh, the new kids' names were... Diamond, Pearl, and the only girl of the group, who refused to give him her name – the Sinnoh Trio. Bill, Daisy, and Professor Oak... he'd call them the Miscellaneous Trio.

That was about sixteen people. Red wondered if the island was going to have a butler who would wait on him. And if his name was Sebastian, and if he fought crime... Sebastian the Combat Butler. Oh, oh, and if he had a mustache and-

"Red? Are you okay?"

Red blinked a few more times, coming into focus on his surroundings again. Blue was looking at him in concern again.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Red looked on, the wind rustling through his hair, and couldn't help but get excited all over again for this vacation. It was going to be the best thing ever... for sure.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: So begins the rewrite of Seclusion.<p>

This is, as it turns out, my most reviewed story so far. I should get to work on rewriting The Wish... because that story really sucks, and does not deserve as many favs as it got.

Seriously... why.


	2. Chapter One

Author's Notes: _Ten years later, as Loveon casually went through her documents and was looking at the old crap she wrote years ago, she found the file for this chapter and remembered, "Oh, shit, I forgot to post it. Oh noes."_

Annnnyways. Thanks to Mitsy-chan and Midori12 for suggesting story names. I figured since you both used the word "seclusion" in your suggestions, I should just go with that. Thanks!

And I realize how ridiculous capitalizing Pokemon names and things like that seems. But the day any form of canon for the series _doesn't_ capitalize something, I'll change it.

Happy freaking Valentine's day for whoever the hell celebrates it. I have no one to give valentines to except for my family. Please excuse me while I go eat birthday cake and think of meaningless things like why my toenails turn blue after I take a shower.

Just ignore me now.

* * *

><p>Chapter One<p>

As soon as the boat came up to a wooden pier, Red found an elderly man standing there, waiting for them. Dressed in a black suit, with an odd looking moustache. As soon as the boat came to a stop and the last of the group, Diamond, was off the boat, he bowed.

"Professor Samuel Oak and his guests, correct? I am the butler for this manor. My name is Sebastian."

Ah, damn it! Red should've bet money…! Why were all butlers named Sebastian? But then again, if Red _had_ decided to bet money, he'd probably end up losing in the end… Red wished he had his own butler at home. And he could make sure that his butler grew a moustache and spoke with an accent. It didn't matter what accent. Just an accent in general.

What was it with Red and his obsession with butlers…?

A pain in his side brought Red's attention back to the real world. He looked to his side to find Green staring at him. "Huh? What?"

"We're introducing ourselves," Green answered.

Red looked back at everyone else and found that they were all staring at him. Man, had he been doing something weird while he was thinking about butlers? Had he been talking aloud or something?

"Ah, right, sorry. My name's Red."

"Very well," Sebastian said. "If you'll all follow me, I shall bring you to the manor."

Sebastian started walking away, leaving the large group of people to follow after him. Red still couldn't believe that there was a butler named Sebastian here. He even introduced him as the "butler of this manor". Red was just waiting for Sebastian to display his combat skills, and then he'd be Sebastian the combat butler…

They walked up a paved path, climbing up some small flights of stairs at some points, passing through the grove of trees and bushes with brightly colored flowers and berries. Man, this place was already looking nice. Almost too nice for Red to stay there. He hadn't even seen the manor up close yet and Red was considering sleeping on the beach because he wasn't sure if he was worthy to sleep there.

Was Red worthy? Was he, Red of Pallet Town, champion of the ninth Pokémon League tournament, worthy of staying at a fancy manor?

Blue leaned over to Green and whispered, "What's it with Red?"

"I don't know."

Red suddenly had an idea. Like a light bulb went off in his head or something. He unhooked the small, red and white balls from his belt and tossed them in the air, letting out his Pokémon; Poli, Pika, Saur, Gyara, Lax, and Aero. At the sound of the Pokémon being released from their Poké Balls, everyone stopped walking and turned around to see what was going on.

"Oh?" Sebastian didn't look surprised, but his voice sounded like it was. "You are a Pokémon trainer?"

"Yeah…?"

Sebastian started to nod then, almost to himself. "Ah, yes, I see. As expected of the professor's guests…"

"Actually, that's a good idea!" Gold said. The black-haired boy took out his own Poké Balls and sent out his Pokémon over by Red's. Much to Red's surprise, the others followed, sending out their Pokémon as well. Within a minute or so, there were more that thirty Pokémon standing there. Red couldn't help but stare at the other Pokémon in awe. There was just something about seeing other people's Pokémon, who looked so strong, right in front of him…

It made him want to battle.

One of the girls turned to Sebastian, her dark hair pulled back into two, low hanging pigtails. "Oh, is it okay for our Pokémon to stay with us inside the building?"

"Certainly so. Now, let us continue."

It seemed as if they were almost already there, as it was only a short walk before the building finally came into view. Red's jaw fell open as he stared at the manor. No, this wasn't a manor. A manor was an understatement. This place was more like a mansion.

The building was mostly a reddish brown (or was it a brownish red?), standing at least three stories high and who knew how long. Windows were everywhere, and Red didn't particularly feel like counting all of them. The path they'd been walking down led right up to the front doors of the manor. No, no, it was a mansion, that was definitely it, were they even using the term manor correctly?

That was it. Red didn't deserve to stay in this place. He turned around to head back to the boat only to have Green grab his arm and turn him back around.

"Please wait while I go to fetch my master," Sebastian said with a bow. He headed up to the front doors and was about to open it when one of the doors swung open and nearly knocked him backwards. Somebody stifled a laugh then.

"Hello there, Samuel!" A man stepped outside, waving at the professor. He wasn't nearly as old at Professor Oak himself, but he was still old by Red's standards. For someone who owned and lived in a fancy looking place like this, he was dressed rather casually. Which reminded Red, how did this guy know Professor Oak anyways? Was the professor his senior or something?

"And these are your guests, correct?" the man continued, looking over the group and the Pokémon behind them. "It's very nice to meet you all! My name's Stephen."

One by one, they all introduced themselves to Stephen. Red made sure to actually be focusing on the conversation this time and introduced himself before Green elbowed him in the side today. Man, he was going to have bruises in the morning from all that elbowing. Red heard the Pokémon apparently trying to introduce themselves to Stephen as well, and had to make sure that Pika didn't try to shake hands with Stephen. Though the "shocking while I shake your hand" thing seemed to be something reserved just for Red.

Stephen seemed to notice that someone was standing behind the door and peeked around it to see Sebastian standing there. "Huh? What're you doing over there, Sebastian?"

"I… was checking the foliage, sir."

Again, there was that stifled laughter. Red glanced around and found Crystal covering Gold's mouth, so he'd clearly been the one who was about to laugh.

"Well, come on in and pick out your rooms!" Stephen stepped back inside, motioning for everyone else to follow him. "Oh, but one of the room's already been taken by another guest."

"Another guest?" Red asked. "What's that supposed to mean?" He felt a pain in his side as someone - probably Green - elbowed him in the side. Yep, he was definitely going to end up bruised tomorrow morning.

"You didn't know? There's another kid, probably around your age, who's staying here. I think her name's Hazuki? She's a trainer, too."

Red wanted to ask why he didn't know there was another person staying here, but the mention of this person being a trainer caught his attention. Maybe he could find her and ask her to battle. He hadn't had too many good battles recently that weren't with his friends…

Sometimes Red wondered if he was addicted to battles and butlers.

* * *

><p>Red tried to go over the mansion's layout as he sat on a bed covered with a red blanket and his own bag. Let's see… as soon as they entered the mansion, there was that large room that had a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, along with couches and a table. There was a single staircase up to the second floor that branched off into two staircases that still led to the same area. Er… had he turned down the first hallway on the left? Yeah, that was it. The hallway had headed down forwards and to the right, but the one going to the north was a dead end.<p>

He and Gold had started looking through all the bedrooms there. They were all stocked with beds and dressers, which made Red realize that he seriously didn't understand rich people. Red picked a room that seemed smaller than the rest and decided to share it with Green, seeing as how it had two beds there. Red could hear the girls downstairs, which just went to prove that they were all loud.

Oh, yeah. There was also another girl there, too. A maid named, uh, what was it? Sharon or something like that. But it seemed like that girl and Sebastian were the only people working there at the moment. Did that mean that Sharon had to make all the beds in all of these rooms? That would've been awful. Maybe Red shouldn't stay here. That'd be too rude. He didn't deserve to stay in a mansion, though he certainly hadn't turned down the offers years ago when he'd stayed at Misty's mansion. Oh, yeah, she had maids, too…

Blue's shout from downstairs interrupted Red's extremely important thoughts. "HEYYYY, YOU GUYS! WE'RE GOING SWIMMING!"

"…And I'm deaf," Red said.

Green sighed. "What a pesky girl…"

* * *

><p>Red was a teenage boy. Thus, he had urges. Red had no idea what those urges were or if he was using the term correctly, but that was his excuse for staring at the girls in their swimsuits alongside Gold. Though while Red was keeping quiet while doing so, Gold was the one whistling whenever one of them passed by.<p>

"…Huh? Where's the straw-hat girl?" Gold asked.

Red quickly looked around the beach, at everyone playing in the water alongside their Pokémon. "Oh, you're right. I don't see her anywhere…"

"I'm right here."

The two of them spun around to see Yellow standing there alongside an older girl with black hair. Now, Red wasn't sure why he was so excited to see Yellow. It wasn't because he wanted to see her in a swimsuit, no way, it's not like he _liked_ her or something like that, that was crazy, Red didn't like people, he liked combat butlers and maids and what the hell was he thinking of?

Yellow stood there, her straw hat still on her head, wearing a jacket and swimming trunks. That was definitely not what Red was expecting. What _was_ he expecting anyways?

"What're you wearing?"

Yellow's eyes darted to the ground. "It's my swimsuit."

No, no, no! This wasn't right, this wasn't what Red wanted to see! This was something a guy would wear! Why was Yellow opting to hide her gender right now, of all times? Just about everyone minus that Sinnoh trio knew that Yellow was a girl! Why, why, why?

"Who's that?" Gold asking, eyeing the girl who stood next to Yellow.

"Oh, this is that other girl that Mr. Stephen mentioned was staying here," Yellow answered. "I kinda got lost on my way back here, but she came and helped me out."

The girl, Hazuki, smiled. "Nice to meet you!" Red was startled by the accent in her voice, though he couldn't quite place what it was. In any case, this was that trainer that Stephen mentioned! What kind of Pokémon did she have, was she a good trainer, was she just starting to become a trainer, what was she? Red wanted to know.

No, wait. That could wait for later. For now, they were supposed to be playing in the water, and even though Red was completely disappointed about what Yellow was wearing, he grabbed her hand and hurried out to the ocean.

Meanwhile, Gold had turned to where Crystal was walking towards her Pokémon. "Hey, Crys!"

She turned around, looking slightly annoyed. "What is it?"

"DAT ASS."

He should've known that Crystal was capable of kicking a sandal with enough force to knock the breath out of him.

* * *

><p>"…And they say that no one ever found the trainer who disappeared from existence along with all of their Pokémon," Blue finished.<p>

Once night had fallen, and after they'd ate dinner prepared by Sebastian (who would've known that he was also a chef?), they'd gathered back in that main room of the mansion, the one with that chandelier hanging above them. They turned out all the lights, but lit a couple of candles, and started to tell scary stories. Or at least things that were supposed to be scary. Honestly, Red wasn't scared of the story Blue had just told. Though Bill, Yellow, and Diamond seemed scared shitless.

"I still think my story starring Red was better…" Gold grumbled. Red felt like agreeing with him, if only because Gold had managed to come up with a story about Red getting obsessed with Yellow and hurting people who got in his way.

"Ahaha, that was such a scary story!" Hazuki exclaimed. Red had confirmed his suspicion that Hazuki couldn't speak English. Though he had no idea what language she actually spoke. Really, he still wanted to know what kind of Pokémon she had. He already knew that she must've been some kind of accomplished trainer since she had about seven or eight badges. Really, the only reason Red was so interested in her was because she was a trainer. If Stephen hadn't mentioned that, Red wouldn't have paid too much attention to her.

"D-do you think it's actually true?" Diamond asked. He had what had once been a rice ball in his hands, but apparently he was so scared that he'd crushed it in his hands. In fact, he didn't seem to even be noticing the food anymore.

"There's no way something stupid like that's true!" Emerald said.

"Are you sure about that?" Blue asked. "I heard it _was_ true. How about we ask Bill? You must've known about a trainer whose Pokémon all disappeared from the PC storage system, right? Right?"

Green sighed. "What a pesky girl…" he grumbled, not noticing Silver's glare.

Professor Oak abruptly stood up. "Well, I think we should all get going to bed." Red wasn't exactly tired right then, but he hadn't the feeling that the professor wasn't suggesting it to them and was more telling them to do it. Everyone seemed to notice the same thing, as they all started to stand up and head off to their rooms. Red felt like he was five years old again, where his mother would tell him to get to bed despite how badly he wanted to watch the outcome of a battle on TV.

"Well, good night, then," Red said to Yellow.

She nodded. "Good night."

They both stood there, neither heading off to their bedrooms.

"Er… see you tomorrow, then," Red said.

"Oh, right. Um. See you tomorrow." Yellow nodded again and decided to leave first, turning and running down the hall to catch up with the other girls. Red realized then that the other guys had headed upstairs already. Wait, how long had he and Yellow stood there after they said good night?

Nevertheless, Red sprinted up the stairs two at a time to catch up with the slowest of the group, Diamond. All the boys had decided to sleep up on the second floor, while the girls stayed downstairs. Though Red hadn't spotted Professor Oak or Bill, so they might be downstairs, too. Okay, so the male Pokédex holders were staying upstairs. Red was already losing track of who was here and who wasn't.

He was already thinking of what they could do tomorrow as he lay down in bed. Said thoughts were still flying through his head as Red fell fast asleep.

The next morning, it was raining heavily. Actually, it was more like a downpour. Red had been hoping to maybe explore the island some more, and rain didn't really bother him, but he didn't want to go outside in this current rain. He might actually end up getting lost because of it.

Since Red was feeling particularly childish today, he suggested that they play hide and seek, which he actually wanted to do as soon as they'd entered the mansion. Much to his surprise, most of them agreed, and with Stephen's permission to hide wherever they'd like, the game started.

Red wasn't quite sure how long he was hiding in the shower of one of the building's bathrooms, but it felt like a long time. And it was boring, so he ended up falling asleep while sitting in the corner of the shower. When he woke up and found that no one had found him, he decided to leave his hiding spot and go downstairs to find everyone stacking cards up. And Red's own Pokémon were assisting with this card castle building.

"Oh, hi, Red," Blue greeted him. "Where'd you go? I didn't notice that you'd left."

"I was hiding," Red answered. "You know, since we were playing hide and seek."

"Oh, we stopped that hours ago," Blue said. "Come on and help us build a card castle."

Red decided to go and help them out, forgetting that he was actually a bit angry that they hadn't realized that he was gone.

And that was how the rest of their day passed. They all went to bed with the rain still tapping against the windows. Red silently hoped that it would stop raining by tomorrow, though he did want to start up on that card castle again. It'd fallen down multiple times, and on the tallest that they'd gotten the castle, Diamond, who Red had started to call Dia, had sneezed and knocked it down.

Red wasn't quite sure of what he dreamt that night, but he was awoken by a scream. Red's eyes flew open and he bolted upright, his chest heaving as he struggled to remember what the hell he'd been dreaming about that scared him into waking up.

But something else caught his attention. Green stood there at the door, leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest. Now, Green may have showed very little facial expressions outside of annoyance and occasional anger, but Red could tell that something was bothering him.

"That was Daisy," Green said. "Emerald… he's dead."

* * *

><p>Red: Emerald? Who's that again?<p>

I'm sorry. I'm a mood killer. Not like there was much of a mood for this shit anyways. I need to go read Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None." I just keep forgetting to go look for it when I go to the bookstore.

So we've got the butler named Sebastian, the maid Sharon or something like that, the old-but-not-as-old-as-Oak guy Stephen, and the probably Japanese girl Hazuki. As you can see, I put lots of thought into their names. That was sarcasm.


	3. Chapter Two

_Author's Notes_: Yaaaay. Today's "Overly Late Chapter Update Excuse"? I need to stop reading things over and over and thinking it sucks, because let's face it, this story's gonna suck no matter how much overreading written chapters and rewriting them I do.

Enjoy OOC characters and randomly performed deaths. It only gets worse (and I mean more absurd and stupid) as it goes on.

* * *

><p>Chapter Two<p>

"W… what?"

Red leaped up from his bed, eyes wide, goosebumps popping up on his arms. "What?" he asked. "Emerald is… he's… he's _dead_?"

Green didn't answer him. Red quickly walked up to Green and repeated what he'd just said. "Emerald's dead? I mean… are you sure? Are you sure this isn't another one of his and Gold's jokes?"

"Trust me, it's too real to be a joke," Green said. "There's blood everywhere. It looks as if…" He went silent and didn't finish his sentence.

Red stumbled back from Green, leaning back on Green's bed and putting a hand to his forehead.

Emerald. That short, loud kid with the hair that reminded Red of a crescent roll.

He'd always felt a bit in debt to the little kid. After all, he _had_ been the one to help them - Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Silver - out of that petrification. If it hadn't been for him, would he still be stuck as a statue?

No way. He couldn't be dead. No one here could be dead. That was way too surreal. It's probably just one big joke. Maybe it's a dream. You can feel things in dreams sometimes, right? _Right_?

Feeling sick, Red stood up from the bed and stepped out into the hall. He could hear sobs from downstairs. As Red headed through the halls and down the stairs, he spotted Crystal sitting on the couch with Gold right next to her. Crystal was clearly crying, her shoulders shaking as she hid her face in her hands. Gold didn't move at all but had his knees up to his chest, his face hidden in them.

God, this was seriously happening, wasn't it? Crystal and Gold definitely weren't acting. Red slowly passed them, turned to where a couple others stood, and immediately came to a stop.

There was a bathroom, right there in the hall, the door wide open. Red didn't have to see what was inside the bathroom. He could already see the blood on the floor, on the doorway, on the carpet. Now he knew what Daisy had screamed about. Judging by the fact that she was right across from the open door and had apparently fainted, she must've been unfortunate enough to see _what_ was in the bathroom, even though Sebastian, Stephen, and Professor Oak stood in front of the doorway to block it. Bill knelt beside Daisy but didn't give the room a glance.

Just the thought made Red queasy, and he covered his mouth and tried not to vomit.

Emerald really _was_ dead, wasn't he? He really, really, _really_ was.

This couldn't really be happening. Just a moment ago, Red had been sure it was just a mistake, a joke, but no. Seeing it in front of him was enough proof.

Someone had killed Emerald.

Red felt his stomach heave and started to gag. That got their attention, and Stephen quickly hurried over to Red, placing a hand on his back.

"Whoa, there. Just calm down for a moment. You okay?"

No. Red wanted to say no, he wasn't freaking okay, someone he knew just _died_ and he just nearly saw his body. Did he freaking _look _okay? Did _anyone_ look okay?

"I… I'm fine," Red answered. He straightened back up but kept a hand over his mouth. "I'm okay. Sorry."

He wasn't really okay, but it was better to say that than say, 'Oh, sorry, I was about to vomit on your carpet.'

"Everyone!" Professor Oak shouted, turning in the direction of the main room. "You are not to enter this room under _any_ circumstances! Stephen, is there a phone somewhere? We need to contact the police."

Stephen nodded and headed off down the hall with the professor in tow. Red glanced at the bathroom and saw Emerald's tiny, pale hand. He quickly looked away.

Someone grabbed onto Red's arm and his eyes shot up, meeting Green's. "We're going to Blue's room," Green said and let go of his arm. Red turned to find that Blue, Yellow, and Silver were helping Crystal and Gold up from the couch. Back behind him, Bill was helping Daisy stand up, though she seriously looked like she was going to faint again.

As Red headed back down the other hall, where the other bedrooms were, he found that girl from yesterday, Hazuki, hurrying towards them.

"What happened?" she asked. "I heard someone scream?"

Green grabbed her shoulder and turned her in the opposite direction, the one they were heading in. "Someone's dead," he calmly said. Naturally, shock crossed Hazuki's face.

"What? What did you say?"

"Just come with us," Green said.

Hazuki didn't ask anymore questions, and Red silently thanked her for that. He couldn't understand how calm Green was. Though Red could tell that he was really on edge, like he might snap at any moment. Green didn't seem like the type nowadays to do that, but…

Red shook his head and walked into Blue's room, where Crystal and Gold sat on one of the beds. Sapphire and Ruby sat against one of the walls, and much like Crystal and Gold, Sapphire had her face hidden. Red wasn't quite sure if she was crying.

He remembered that those four had gotten to know Emerald a lot more than Red ever did. They had more of a reason to be in shock and be upset. It was definitely, _absolutely_ more painful for them than it was for him.

No one paid attention to the storm that was raging outside, the trees bending like twigs, the rain lashing against the window. The lights flickered a bit.

Why? Why would someone kill Emerald, of all people? Better yet, why would anyone kill anyone in the first place? There was no reason for it. Emerald didn't do anything to deserve to get killed. So why?

Something popped up into Red's mind then.

If someone killed Emerald… then the killer was still here, right in the mansion, possibly right in this very room.

Red quickly glanced at everyone in the room. Crystal, Gold, Sapphire, and Ruby were definitely out. They wouldn't kill Emerald. But what about everyone else here?

No one had any reason to kill Emerald. None of the Pokédex holders would ever do something like that to another. Right?

Bill wouldn't do that either. Daisy was also out. And she seemed genuinely upset and shocked at the sight of Emerald's body in the bathroom.

Which left Hazuki, who seemed to be the most confused out of everyone in the room. Seeing as how Green had only mentioned that someone died. No one else said a word, as most of them were crying.

The sight of Emerald kept appearing in Red's mind. He was glad he didn't see him there in the bathroom. Just the blood on the doorway and the entrance was enough. And Emerald's hand, laying there in a streak of-

…Wait.

Something wasn't right about that scene. Had Red seen it right?

He suddenly flung open the bedroom door and bounded down the hall, leaving everyone else behind. Red stumbled to a stop in front of the bathroom, where Sebastian still stood, a pained expression on his face.

"Mister Red, whatever are you-"

"I need to take a look at Emerald," Red said. Though he really, _really_ didn't want to.

"No one is allowed to enter the bathroom under the professor's orders."

"I _know_ that! But Professor Oak only said we can't _enter _the bathroom. He never said we couldn't look in it."

Sebastian seemed to raise an eyebrow and stepped aside. Red gulped, hoping he wouldn't vomit, as he stepped up to look in the bathroom.

There was a bathtub at the other end of the bathroom, by a small window, with a curtain pulled around it. A sink and a toilet. And there was Emerald, laying in front of the sink in a pool of blood, with what looked like an awful injury to the head, small holes punctured into his hands.

Who would do this? It was bad enough that someone killed Emerald in the first place, but what was it with the holes in his hands?

"They didn't catch Emerald in the bathroom."

Red jumped at the sound of Green's voice and glanced back to see him standing behind him, looking over his shoulder. But Red nodded in agreement.

"I… I think they dragged him back into the bathroom," Red said, managing to find his voice, if only for a moment. He pointed. "I mean, that would explain the blo… the blood on the door frame, right?"

"And the blood on the carpet as well," Green said. "He didn't get too far before they caught him, I guess."

Something else occurred to Red.

"If he screamed… how could any of us not have heard it?"

"Maybe he was in shock. Maybe someone covered his mouth so he couldn't scream."

"But what if he _did_? And no one-"

The sound of footsteps coming down the hall made Red stop. He and Green backed away from the bathroom and let Sebastian quickly resume the place he was standing. Nonetheless, Professor Oak looked at them disapprovingly as he and Stephen approached them.

"The phones aren't working," Stephen said. "I'm afraid it might be because of the storm…"

Green started to say something else to Professor Oak and Stephen, but Red didn't hear him. Instead, he was just thinking of how unfortunate this entire situation was… a terrible storm arrives, the phones don't work, someone's dead…

Man, Red would give anything to go back in time and choose to not go on vacation at all. This was way too much, even for Red, who's pretty much done everything.

"Red. We're going back to Blue and Yellow's room."

Red looked up at Green and nodded.

The room was still silent as Red came back along with Green, Stephen, Sebastian, and the professor. Blue glanced up as they came in and asked, "What's wrong?"

"The phones aren't working," Stephen answered. And by pure and somewhat unfortunate coincidence, the electricity went out, the lights flickering a couple of times before sputtering out. Some of them glanced up at the lights, but everyone remained silent.

Bill started to shake his head. "Aw, heck, this ain't supposed to be happening. This jus' ain't right!" He placed his head in his hands and continued shaking it around. "This ain't right!"

Red wanted to say he agreed with him, but the words refused to come out. They remained there, stuck in his throat, and nothing came out. But he was pretty sure that what Bill said applied to everyone. At least Red wasn't the only one thinking like that.

One of them stood up from the floor. That girl from Sinnoh, whose name Red didn't really know, though he was pretty sure her last name was something like Berlitz. "Where might that other woman, Sharon, be?"

Stephen's eyes widened and he turned to Sebastian. "Sebastian, have you seen Sharon anywhere?"

Sebastian shook his head. "I have not, I'm afraid. She might still be sleeping in her room."

"Was she always such a heavy sleeper? I thought that just the sound of someone walking through the halls was enough to wake her up."

Blue stood up from her bed, her eyebrows furrowed together and a slight frown on her face. "Maybe we should start looking for her…"

"That seems like the best idea," Professor Oak said. "Those of you who wish to help us look for Sharon, follow us."

Naturally, Red was one of the people who followed the professor as he left the room with Stephen and Sebastian. Green, Ruby, Silver, and those three Sinnoh kids followed along as well. Professor Oak suggested that they split into groups to search through the mansion; Red headed through alongside Sebastian and that Berlitz girl.

They were mostly silent as they headed upstairs and through the halls, though Red heard the girl occasionally talk, though she seemed to be directing most of it at Sebastian. Finally, the girl turned to Red and directly asked him, "Um… what kind of person was this Emerald boy?"

Red stopped walking. The girl and Sebastian glanced back at him expectantly.

"He… well, I don't really know. I heard from Gold that he was an orphan, and that he befriended Latias and Latios, and… He…" Red gulped. "He saved us."

She didn't ask any more questions, but seemed to nod a bit before turning back around. "Shall we continue? Sebastian, where might Sharon's room be?"

"It is up on the third floor," Sebastian answered. "The staircase to the third floor is quite close. Let us hurry."

Red wondered how these two could talk so oddly and yet still seem normal. In any case, there _was_ a staircase at the end of the hall, which they headed up. The third floor was, naturally, completely empty. It was much narrower than the other hall, with windows lining the right side of the hall, and bedroom doors on the left.

Sebastian led the way up to one of the doors, knocking first before opening the door. He peeked in, glanced around, and stepped back out, shaking his head. "Sharon isn't in her room," he said.

"Then shall we check the other rooms?"

Red shook his head, looking down at the girl. "Maybe you shouldn't check. I mean… I don't think you'd want to end up finding anything…" Wait. Was Red already thinking that Sharon was dead? He hoped not. But if she wasn't in her room, and she hadn't appeared yet that morning…

The sound of another door opening caught Red's attention, and he looked up to find that Berlitz girl opening up one of the doors.

"Hey! I thought I just said…"

"There's nobody in this room," the girl said as she stepped back and shut the door. She looked up at Red. "Is there something the matter?"

Red wanted to ask why she wasn't listening to him, but instead said, "I still don't know your name."

He hadn't been expecting an answer, seeing as how the girl hadn't told anyone her name back in Vermillion, but she did tell Red her name. Meanwhile, Sebastian opened up two other doors and shook his head regretfully.

"She isn't in any of these rooms either, I'm afraid," he said. "If only I had a Pokémon… Ah, yes, you two. Perhaps you could have your Pokémon assist with our search?"

Red and the girl, Platinum, both looked up in surprise and nodded. Just as Red took out one of his Pokémon's Poké Balls, he stopped.

"Ma… Maybe we shouldn't have them help," he said. "I don't think any of my Pokémon would want to find Sharon de… dead."

Platinum stared at him for a moment, having already let out one of her Pokémon, a tall, blue and white, vaguely penguin-like Pokémon. "…There's nothing to worry about," she said.

"Why? You don't think she's dead?"

"I'll only allow Empoleon to see the best of therapists if she happens to find Miss Sharon."

In spite of the situation, Red did a double take. "A… A _therapist_? A Pokémon therapist?"

"Yes. Now, let us continue."

Red sighed and sent out Poli. The blue Pokémon's stomach was white, with a black spiral on it. Poli looked up at him as Red said, "Listen, Poli. We're looking for someone right now, and we need your help."

Poli listened to him and nodded. The two of them hurried after Sebastian, Platinum, and her Pokémon.

"Oh, yeah," Red said. "Sebastian, don't you have any Pokémon?"

"I'm afraid I haven't had a Pokémon of my own for a very long time…"

"Why might that be?" Platinum asked.

Sebastian was silent for a moment as he opened up another door and looked inside. "Back when I was young, I had my own Pokémon. I discovered that I was not fit to be a trainer. My Pokémon detested me, and I feared my own partner. And one day… something awful happened."

Red and Platinum were silent as they listened to Sebastian talk. Red had the feeling that maybe he should stop Sebastian and tell him not to finish, and yet, he wanted to know what happened. Damn curiosity.

"The two of us were in a crowded city on an awfully rainy day when a car veered off the road and onto the sidewalk. My Pokémon… why, it pushed me out of the way of the oncoming vehicle. It never had the time to move itself. And when I sat there, holding my Pokémon in my arms… I… I realized.

"My Pokémon might not have ever detested me. It might have just been its way of showing its love instead. And I had misunderstood its intentions. I decided then that I really _wasn't_ suited to be a trainer if I couldn't understand my own Pokémon's emotions…"

Red and Platinum still didn't speak. There was only the sound of the rain pounding against the windows and the wind howling outside. Sebastian lifted up a handkerchief and brought it to his face.

"I-I apologize. We should continue onwards."

"Right…"

Red glanced at Platinum, who was keeping her eyes on Sebastian, and ran off ahead of Sebastian. "I'll start at the end," he said, grabbing the doorknob of the last door there in the hall. He swung it open, not expecting to find anything.

Oh, but how wrong he was.

Laying there, face down in the room with an indescribable injury on her head, was Sharon.

Red stepped back and vomited.

* * *

><p><em>Author's Notes<em>: Mustnotkillmood, mustnotkillmood, mustnot-

Red projectiled vomited, okay? HNNNRGH, I KILLED THE MOOD.

I'll try not to obsess over the next chapters. I don't really enjoy going on the internet anymore, which is another lame reason for me to not update. I'm writing original stories and Pokemon stories. Strange things are going to happen, like that night my family watched The Human Centipede 2 and...

That's one hour and a half I wish I could get back. ._. MAI AIIIIZUUUU-! WHY WOULD YOU... AND WITH... And I was writing another chapter for this story when I stopped to go watch it. I can't even face that chapter without thinking of that damn movie. And I _dreamt_ about it, too.

If you value your brain, don't go watch that movie. Please.


	4. Chapter Three

_Author's Notes_: More OOC-ness and absurd deaths. Enjoy. I'm trying my best to not reread this chapter and find a gabillion flaws with it. Accept it as it is.

* * *

><p>Chapter Three<p>

"Thank you, again, Red," Stephen said, pulling up the hood of the blue windbreaker he now wore. Professor Oak wore a similar coat. Everyone had gathered around the entrance of the building.

"It's fine," Red said with a wave of his hand. "Oh, yeah. If you need Gyara to stop, just say stop. Be careful where you touch him, too."

It had been decided that, since the phones weren't working and help was desperately needed here, Stephen would leave on the back of Red's Gyarados and head to Vermillion to get help. Professor Oak was accompanying him out to the beach.

"Be careful."

"Good luck!"

There were a couple of encouragements to the two men as they stepped out into the pouring rain. The wind was blowing hard enough to give them both trouble walking. Red, Green, and Sebastian struggled to push the doors shut behind them.

Everyone stood there in silence for what seemed like a long time, but was really only a couple of seconds. Someone, Crystal by the sound of it, mumbled something that Red couldn't understand. Finally, Sebastian broke the uncomfortable silence that surrounded the group.

"I'm well aware that I have failed to prepare breakfast for you all. If you would wait, I shall go prepare it immediately."

"That'd be great," Blue said with a faint smile. "Thank you."

Sebastian bowed slightly and turned to walk down the hall. There was no need to worry anymore. Professor Oak had come to the conclusion that Sharon must have committed suicide after murdering Emerald. Stephen had seemed to be in shock, as he commented that Sharon wasn't that type of person. And yet, Red wasn't relieved. Because something about Sharon's body had bothered him.

Was he the only one who had noticed the injury on Sharon's head? She surely wouldn't have done that to herself. But apparently, there'd been an awful injury to her neck that Red hadn't seen, as he was too busy trying not to vomit again, and a bloody knife lay in her hand.

So, yes, she'd probably killed herself so she wouldn't be caught. But it _still_ seemed all wrong to Red. He couldn't bring up her head injury without getting nauseous and nearly vomiting. He didn't know if Platinum had noticed it, and Sebastian hadn't mentioned it.

But the killer was gone now. Hopefully. Red didn't know what to believe anymore.

"Let's go back to my room and wait," Blue suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement and headed together back to Blue and Yellow's room.

"…Ah. Um… Does anyone know where the bathroom is?" Hazuki asked. "Since we can't use the one by the entrance…"

"There's one right down this hall, and to the right," Blue said. She pointed down the hall to show her. Hazuki thanked her and ran down the hall.

"Well," Blue said, stepping back into the room and facing everyone. She placed her hands on her hips. "I say we play some card games!"

"Are there any card games to play with this many people, though?" Pearl asked.

Red couldn't believe Blue was suggesting that they play a card game at a time like this. But, simply because he really wanted to take his mind off things, he said, "I've got a deck of cards in my room. I'll go get it."

He quickly stood up and left the room. Heading up the stairs, down the short hall, and turning left brought him to the hall where the rooms that the guys were staying in. Last night, he remembered seeing an unopened deck of cards in one of the drawers in his room, and took out the small, red and white box before heading back down to Blue's room. Hazuki was just arriving at Blue's room at the same time he was, and nodded at him in acknowledgement.

"Okay!" Blue cheerfully said as soon as the two entered the room. "I say we play an old maid tournament!"

"There's still too many people for that."

"Like I said, a tournament! We'll break into groups to do it." Blue headed over to a dresser in her room and pulled out a deck of cards identical to the one Red held. Wait, so she'd had her own deck this entire time? If that was the case, then every room probably had one, and he could've just gone into the room next to this one to get a deck of cards.

…Actually, why hadn't he himself thought of that in the first place?

They split into two groups then, listening to Blue's every order. Technically, since she wasn't really the oldest, why was she ordering them around? Bill or Daisy should've been in charge or something like that.

In any case, just sitting around and talking made Red feel immensely better. He almost forgot about the awful situation they were in.

"Oh, I jus' remembered somethin'," Bill said. "I oughtta tell Sebastian not to use any milk in whatever he's makin'…"

"Why?" Red asked.

"Ah, well, ya know…"

Red seemed to understand without Bill's telling him. Bill left the room, and Red's group started playing the game. They didn't get very into it before they heard Bill scream. Several people went pale, but Green and Red leaped up from the floor and bolted from the room.

"Let's just hope something scared him," Green said.

Red desperately hoped that that was actually the case. But as they got closer to Bill, who was cowering against the wall, Red's heart sank and his stomach knotted up.

"What happened?" Green shouted.

In response, Bill pointed at the door across from him. The door to the kitchen, which was still swinging back and forth. It wasn't the kind of door that you had to shut closed, but the swinging kind, which Red guessed was so people leaving the kitchen with food didn't have to balance things while they opened the door.

Green grabbed the swinging door and pulled it open.

Sebastian lay there in front of them, on the floor.

It might've been fine, if only that knife weren't almost completely through his neck.

* * *

><p>"Who left the room while I was gone?" Professor Oak questioned.<p>

Everyone had gathered in that main room in front of the front doors and stairs. Now, as Professor Oak asked them questions, no one seemed to want to answer. Blue, who was so unnaturally pale that it frightened Red, answered in a shaky voice, "H-Hazuki, and…" She turned to look at Red with wide eyes. "And R-Red."

Professor Oak turned to look at the two of them. "Hazuki and Red, both of you shall stay in sight of everyone. I want both of you to sit here in front of us."

As Red was already sitting in the chair Professor Oak was gesturing to, that left Hazuki to slowly move from where she stood behind one of the chair and sit down next to Red. Her legs shook even as she sat there, staring at the floor with wide eyes.

"Everyone, keep an eye on them both while we wait for Stephen to return with help."

Red couldn't believe it. Now he was being labeled as a suspect and everyone had to keep an eye on him? "B-but, I only left Blue's room to get cards from my room!"

"Yes, that's right!" Hazuki nodded in agreement. "A-and I only went to bathroom for the short bit! Why you suspect us?"

"We have no proof that you did what you said," Professor Oak said. "If everyone was waiting in Blue and Yellow's room, they wouldn't see if either of you had gone elsewhere. It only leaves the two of you as possible culprits for Sebastian's death. And…" He glanced at Red. "As much as it pains me to suspect a trainer I entrusted a Pokédex with, it's possible that one of you may have _also_ been responsible for the deaths of Sharon and Emerald."

Red's mouth hung open. "But… didn't you say that Sharon had killed Emerald and then committed suicide?"

"Yes, but after listening to Stephen, I've come to the conclusion that someone with that personality surely wouldn't have murdered Emerald for no reason. And, according to Miss Berlitz, there was an injury to the back of Sharon's head."

Red turned to Platinum in shock. "You saw that too?"

"Yes…"

"So, what you're trying to say is that someone made it look as though she committed suicide?" Green asked.

Professor Oak nodded. "That is exactly what I was about to say. I just can't believe that I had come to such a hasty solution… and now Sebastian is also dead. To ensure that no one gets hurt, we'll keep a close watch on both Red and Hazuki."

Red couldn't believe that he was be suspected of a crime he was _sure_ he didn't commit. He knew full well that he'd been fast asleep during the night until Daisy's scream woke him up. He'd found Sharon's dead body by accident. He just went to his room to grab cards and left. Which only left…

"I… I do not believe that Red did this," Platinum quietly said. "He seemed genuinely shocked by the discovery of Miss Sharon. He even became sick at the sight of her. And… he wouldn't have had a reason to kill Sebastian as well, I believe."

"Yeah," Gold agreed. "There's no way Red would kill Emerald, either." He stood up from his seat and glared at Hazuki. "Which leaves you."

"M-me?" Hazuki squeaked. "Why would I do that? I do not have the reason for that!"

"Sure you do! You heard that the people who were entrusted with Pokédexes were coming here to this island, so you wanted to come along as well… And you were jealous of us, weren't you?"

Hazuki squeaked again at Gold's accusation. She looked around at everyone who sat there in shock. "I… but…"

"Do you even _have_ an excuse for this?"

"…I… I…"

Red felt like Hazuki really _was_ shocked by this, but… if he knew that he didn't do it, and she was the only other one who'd left the room before Sebastian died, then…

"Did… did you do it?" Red asked. "Did you kill them?"

"N-no," Hazuki said and shook her head. She suddenly burst into tears and hid her face in her hands, speaking something that was completely unintelligible to Red. Red already felt bad about asking her. But really, who else could've been left? Was she crying because she _knew_ she did it?

But Hazuki's tears only seem to anger Gold. The black-haired boy stepped forwards and grabbed Hazuki by the shoulders, shaking her around. "Why'd you do it?" Gold shouted. "Why would you kill them? Why would you kill _Emerald?_ What'd he ever do to you, huh? Huh?"

"Let her go, Gold."

Gold's eyes shot up, and Red turned around in his seat to see Ruby standing there. Red had actually never noticed that he'd left.

"Out of curiosity, I decided to go look in the kitchen," Ruby said calmly, as if this didn't really concern him. "Neither Red nor Hazuki killed the butler."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gold asked, loosening his grip on Hazuki's shoulders.

"Come take a look. Someone set up a trap in the kitchen."

A wave of confusion spread over the room. Red, naturally, was one of the first to leave his seat. He and Gold hurried past Ruby and down to the kitchen. Red wasn't even sure if Professor Oak had protested to him leaving the seat, but he didn't even care right now.

He tried his best to avoid looking at Sebastian's body as he stepped into the kitchen. But as soon as he did, Red felt something press against his leg. The huge knife that was still in Sebastian's neck moved slightly. Red looked at Gold, who was just as surprised as he was.

Professor Oak, Green, Ruby, and Blue weren't far behind them. Gold and Red stepped over whatever had pushed against Red's leg and looked up above the door.

"I see," Professor Oak said as Green bent down and grabbed something close to the floor. The knife moved again as Green tugged on it. "That string must be attached to the knife…"

"And I think it was up above the door," Red added. He pointed above the doorframe, where a small hook had been embedded. The other four stepped into the kitchen to look.

"…So the string was hooked up there, which was _probably_ where the knife was hidden," Green said. "Sebastian wasn't the target. It would've got whoever was going into the kitchen."

Red suddenly thought of something. "You wouldn't have even had to trip over the string," he said. "Just opening the door would've…" He stopped talking and went silent. Blue had gone pale again.

"I… I was going to go in here earlier," she quietly said. "To get something to drink. But when you guys found Sharon, I changed my mind and waited for everyone."

Red gulped. Blue was _this_ close to getting killed herself. Red didn't even know what to feel about that.

"Let's detach these strings," Professor Oak said. "Ruby, get a shower curtain from one of the bathrooms. We'll cover Sebastian's body. But no touching the body itself, does everyone understand me?"

They nodded, and Ruby left the room to go get a shower curtain, apparently.

Red slowly fell back and sat on the ground. A trap in the kitchen. With that, it meant that the culprits weren't necessarily he and Hazuki anymore. It could be anyone now.

Anyone.

* * *

><p><em>Author's Notes<em>: If everyone's actions weren't OOC, I don't know what was. No, wait, yes I do. Never mind, don't listen to me.

The next chapter's weird. I think I'll make everyone suffer a bit before I post it. I mean suffering from my infectious stupidity. I doubt I spelt that right.

Aw, well, I killed Sebastian. I liked the butler. Just because he was a butler. Old man butlers are awesome. And I killed him. Well, better than a main character, I guess.

Oh, and apparently half of the cast are certified detectives. More absurdity. Have fun picking out every moment of out of character characters. Play a drinking game if you want. Take a shot every time someone acts like they should.


	5. Chapter Four

_Author's Notes_: It's all fun and games until the flying monkeys attack. No, wait...

The end of this chapter still makes me wonder things. And hey, look, it's been less than a day since I updated. Yaaay.

Sebastian's mustache will stare at you as you sleep.

* * *

><p>Chapter Four<p>

The power had come back on after a while, but the phone lines still weren't working. There was no sign of Stephen returning anytime soon, as the storm outside seemed to have gotten even worse. The windows rattled with every gust of wind, and on more than one occasion did the front doors of the mansion fly open from the wind. Red and Green had moved a table to sit in front of the doors to stop them from blowing open.

It was hard, everyone discovered, to attempt to make something to eat when there's a dead body in the kitchen. Even though it was covered with a white shower curtain. Red tried to make sandwiches for everyone, but just knowing that Sebastian was laying there, dead and covered by a curtain, right behind him was enough to make him feel far too uncomfortable to work. It was like Sebastian was staring at him from under the curtain, with those sad eyes, as he remembered told of his trainer days.

They brought out the things that didn't require to be refrigerated and made the dining room their new kitchen.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight," Red mumbled. "How're we supposed to sleep, knowing that there might be a killer with us?"

"Just don't think about it," Green answered. "Everyone's going to lock their doors tonight, that's for sure."

"Can we move the dresser in front of it, too?"

"Fine."

Professor Oak had told everyone to not go around the building alone and to stick with a friend. So Red had mostly been following Green around for the rest of the day. He heard footsteps upstairs and saw the occasional glimpse of those three Sinnoh kids and Yellow. Gold, Silver, and Crystal stuck together as well, sitting in Crystal's room. Blue was with Ruby and Sapphire. Hazuki was with Bill and Daisy. Professor Oak still wanted to keep her under watch, but didn't bring up Red needing to be watched.

Once it was dinnertime, everyone gathered in the dining room to eat.

"Oh, yeah," Red said. "What about everyone's Pokégears? Have you tried calling the police with those?"

"We already tried," Gold said. "It doesn't get a signal out here."

"…Oh."

Red returned to his depressing dinner of a peanut butter sandwich and some berries that others had with them. Red wondered if there was any canned ravioli. They'd taken just about everything out of the kitchen, so he turned to where the food now rested on an oak drawer of sorts.

No ravioli. He was stuck with a peanut butter sandwich. Damn.

"Everyone should try to move their dressers in front of the doors tonight," Green said. "Just in case."

"Oh."

"Okay."

"Sure…"

There were some half-hearted replies, but that was it.

"Think the weather'll get better by tomorrow?"

"No."

"I doubt it."

"You never know, though. It might."

Hazuki stood up from her seat silently and headed to the door.

"Wait a moment," Professor Oak said. "Don't leave this room. Stay right here."

Hazuki came to a stop but didn't turn around.

"Oh, what's the harm in it?" Bill asked. "Jus' let the girl go."

"But-"

"Grandfather," Daisy said. "I'm sure Hazuki won't do anything. Just let her return to her room."

Professor Oak reluctantly said, "Very well, then." Hazuki quickly left the room without another word.

Everyone left the dining room at different times, but still together in groups, so apparently this was okay with Professor Oak. Red appreciated that he was worried about them, but he seemed to be a little _too_ protective of them right now. He wondered if it was because Emerald had died. Maybe the professor felt that he needed to protect all of them more after that.

Red left alongside Yellow, Blue, and Green. Daisy and Professor Oak remained in the dining room.

"I'm… scared," Yellow mumbled as they walked through the hall.

Blue slapped her hand on Yellow's shoulder. "Don't worry. Once Stephen gets back, we'll be able to leave this place, and…" She paused. Red wondered if she was going to say "and then we'd pretend it never happened", but that was much easier said than done.

Because they couldn't pretend that Emerald was still alive. They couldn't pretend that they'd seen the dead bodies of people. Those things would certainly haunt Red for a long time after they got home, and he was sure it would be the same for everyone else.

"I'm gonna go check on Silver, Crystal, and Gold," Blue said as they reached the hallway where the girls' rooms were. She quickly hurried off ahead of them and walked in, without knocking, to what Red supposed was Crystal's room.

"I'm just going to go in my room, then," Yellow said. "Do you guys want to join me?"

Green shook his head. "I'm going to go talk to Daisy. Red, you stay with Yellow."

Red wondered if Green had done that on purpose, but opted not to think about it as he and Yellow went into her room. The cards everyone had been about to play with earlier lay around the room. Again, there was something that could've been. They could've played old maid, ate some of Sebastian's awesome butler food, and wait for help without worrying about-

No. They couldn't even do that, because before that, Sharon and Emerald were both murdered. If Red wanted things to be normal, he would have to go back to last night. He could've chosen to stay up late instead of listening to the professor, and maybe he would've heard Emerald leave his room to go down to the bathroom.

Maybe, if Red hadn't been sleeping, he would've been able to save Emerald.

"Red?" Yellow asked. "Is something wrong?"

Red was about to lie and say no, but held back. "…I'm just thinking. About everything."

"Oh." Yellow seemed to understand what he was talking about and simply nodded. She went over to her bed, picked up her sketchbook, and smiled at him. "Um… would you mind being my model? I wanted to practice drawing you. Er, no, what I meant was, I wanted to practice drawing _people_, not just you, uhhh…"

In spite of himself, Red grinned. "Sure! Draw a picture of me and make sure to make me look as awesome as I am!"

Yellow laughed, sat down on her bed, and started drawing.

* * *

><p>"I do feel bad for those three from Sinnoh, though," Crystal said. "They're younger than us, but they have to go through something like this…"<p>

"I thought we all agreed not to talk about it," Gold said.

"Right… Sorry."

The effect that this was having on Crystal must've been something drastic, as she hadn't snapped at Gold, but neither Gold nor Silver brought this up. They all went silent, listening to the thunder rumble outside, the wind howl outside, and what appeared to be Blue laughing in the next room over Diamond and Pearl's standup routine.

"Hey, Silver," Gold said, grabbing a piece of paper seemingly out of nowhere along with a pen and scribbling something down on it. He handed it to Silver. "Read this out loud."

"'Gold is'… No," Silver said. "Idiot."

"Fine." Gold snatched it from Silver and handed it to Crystal, who looked at him suspiciously. "Crystal, you read it."

"No, Crystal, don't-"

"'Gold is great in bed'," Crystal said. She paused. She crumbled up the paper into her shaking fist. "Gold…"

"I'm sorry, I thought it would lighten the mood!"

Crystal started shouting at Gold and looked to be a couple of seconds away from physically harming him. Gold laid on the floor and made suggestive sounding noises for no particular reason. Silver sighed and got up to leave the room.

Gold stopped moaning like a lady and asked, "Where're you going, Silvie?"

"To the bathroom. To take a…" Silver stopped.

"A shit?" Gold asked. This time, Crystal punched him in the face.

"No! A bath."

"Send me a postcard and use lots of bubbles in your bath," Gold said.

"Screw you."

"Crystal's already- OW! Stop hitting me!"

"Don't you dare bring my name into whatever you were going to say!"

"I was just going to say that Crystal's already doing it."

"What?"

"Well, Silver said 'screw you', so I said-"

Silver shut the door, leaving the shrieking Gold and pissed off Crystal behind.

The downstairs bathroom that Blue had directed Hazuki to earlier had no shower or bathtub. Besides, Silver didn't really want to use the same bathroom that all the women were using. He headed upstairs and wandered about a bit until he found a bathroom whose door looked exactly like the ones to the bathroom.

Of course. Emerald wouldn't have known this was here, especially if he was half-asleep.

This bathroom had a tub, but no actual shower. Which meant that he'd either have to fill the tub with water or just do it some complicated way that would take a lot of time. Silver sighed again, turned the bathtub, and left to go get a change of clothes.

He didn't like the way things were ending up. But then again, who would? Silver had only come because Gold and Blue had insisted in a horribly annoying manner. Well. It was annoying when Gold did it, but he mostly agreed because Blue was begging him to in a not-annoying-like-Gold way.

Would things had still ended up like this if Silver had chosen _not_ to go? Maybe things would've been different. Maybe not. If they'd ended up the same, then Silver was silently glad that he was there with Crystal and Gold. There was no particular reason why, though. Probably.

When Silver opened the bag he brought, he found a pair of boxers printed with those Luvdisc Pokémon. I.e. little pink heart-shaped Pokémon. Attached to them was a note that said, "I thought you'd like a pair of these. Kisses, Seymour Hiney."

Silver was going to kill Gold when he came back downstairs. There was the fact that he'd put these in his bag, and the fact that Gold had removed all of his other underwear and probably hid them somewhere.

So after he killed Gold, he'd bring him back to life so he could kill him again. That sounded good enough.

Left with no choice but to wear the Luvdisc underwear - and besides, who was going to see them? - Silver left his room and went back to the bathroom, where the tub faucet had been turned off. As Silver started removing his clothes, he remembered something.

Dropping his shirt to the ground, Silver approached the tub.

He… didn't turn the water off.

But someone else did.

And now that he looked at it, the water seemed to be an odd color… It wasn't because of the color of the tub.

Silver heard the door lock and whirled around. He didn't get a chance to see if it was Gold playing a stupid trick on him because a hand smashed into his face. Silver stumbled back, his legs caught on the edge of the tub, and he crashed into the water.

A horrible burning feeling rushed over Silver's body as soon as he touched the water. He scrambled around, trying to get out of the tub, but a hand clamped over his mouth and pushed him down under the water.

The pain was unbelievable.

Silver flailed around, tried to remove the person's hand from his face, but it hurt, everything hurt. He tried opening his eyes but instantly regretted it. Silver tried to scream, tried to do something, but the hand kept him down under the burning water.

Within a minute, the water had turned dark red. Silver stopped moving.

* * *

><p>"You let him go <em>alone<em>?" Green asked.

"Uh, yeah," Gold said. "I wasn't going to go in the bathroom with him while he took a bath. I had a feeling if I suggested it, Crystal would've yelled some more."

"But you could've waited _outside_ the bathroom."

Gold stared at Green. "Why? You think something happened to him?"

"No. It's just a safety thing. Grandfather told us not to go anywhere alone."

"He'll be fine," Crystal said. "It's fine. There's nothing to worry about."

But after an hour, everyone started to get worried, after Gold had announced to everyone that Silver was taking a bubble bath and was going to send him a postcard.

"He's been gone for a while…" Yellow said.

"Hey," Gold said. "Straw-hat girl. When _I_ take a bubble bath, I take my time with it. I spend hours in the tub, making my skin squeaky clean, and my mother tells me to get out after the sixth hour."

"You take six hour baths?" Crystal asked in disbelief.

"I like to be _squeaky_ clean. I want my skin to sparkle."

"Six hour baths…" Diamond mumbled. Red suspected that he was seriously considering this.

They waited a bit longer, Gold making poor Platinum say that he was great in bed, but the poor girl didn't quite understand the meaning behind it, and stared at Gold as Crystal violently shook him around.

But after the Crystal & Gold Show, everyone was seriously worried about Silver.

"We should go check on him," Green said.

"But what if he's…" Red paused and whispered, "_Naked?"_

"He's a guy, we're guys, it's fine. If we just explain that we're worried, he'll understand."

"I'm going with you," Gold said, jumping up from his seat.

"I-I am, too!" Crystal added.

"No," Gold said. "We wouldn't want your virgin eyes to be ruined."

"I could say the same to you."

"Hey. I look at _magazines_."

"I read actual, educational books."

"Will you two quit it?" Green interrupted. "Crystal can come."

Professor Oak turned to the remaining people. "Blue, I'd like you, Yellow, Ms. Berlitz, Pearl, and Diamond to head back to your room."

Anger instantly flashed across Blue's face. "What? Silver's my _brother,_ shouldn't I come along?"

"Stay down here, please."

"No, I-"

"Blue," Yellow said. She grabbed the back of Blue's shirt and shook her head. "Let's just go back to our room. Okay? There's nothing wrong, I'm sure."

Blue looked at Yellow and nodded. "…Fine," she grumbled.

"Let's not waste anymore time," Professor Oak said. "Gold, do you know which bathroom he went to?"

"One upstairs, I think."

Red felt like his heart was in his throat as he and Gold led the way up the stairs and down the hall. Red found that he couldn't tell which of these doors was the one to the bathroom. He, Gold, the professor, Green, Crystal, and for some reason, Ruby and Sapphire all split apart to try and find which door was the one with the bathroom.

One of the doors that Red tried to open was locked. He rattled the doorknob, but it didn't budge. Within a few seconds, Green was right there next to him, trying the doorknob as well, as if it would open when he touched it instead of Red. Of course, it still didn't open.

"Silver?" Green asked. Red noticed that he wasn't raising his voice; obviously, he didn't want to scare anyone downstairs. Smart, though Red wouldn't have instantly thought of it.

"You sure he's in there?" Sapphire asked.

"The light's on under the door," Green said. "And the door's locked. Wouldn't you lock the door if you were showering?"

Ruby turned to her. "Would you bother to actually lock the door or not?"

"Don't start arguing," Red said. Really, the last thing they needed was for the two of them to start shouting at each other. Crystal and Gold were bad enough, but Ruby and Sapphire were a whole new level of bad.

Professor Oak stepped up and started to knock on the door. "Silver? Silver, can you hear me? If you don't answer, we're going to break open this door!"

"Is it okay for us to do that?" Red whispered.

"It's urgent, so it's fine," Green said.

Silver didn't answer, so Red, Green, Professor Oak, Gold, and Ruby gathered together at the door. Maybe there were too many of them? But the sooner they opened the door, the better, Red supposed.

"On three," Green said. "One, two…"

On three, all five of them rammed into the door. It didn't open, so they backed up and tried a second time. Red slammed to the ground, feeling a pain in his shoulder, and vaguely realized that the door had broken down. He quickly pushed himself up.

In front of him sat a tub full of red. A hand floated up and above the water, but Red was horrified to see that there was no skin on that hand.

Red was so shocked, so absolutely horrified, that he quickly ran backwards, tripped, and fell down outside the door. He didn't notice the two girls, but he was pretty sure they were seeing the same thing he was.

"It isn't…?" Sapphire squeaked.

Something caught Red's eye, and he turned to the hallway that led to the stairs, but nothing was there. Before he could wonder what it was, Gold started to scream.

And for good reason. Silver was the one in the tub.

* * *

><p><em>Author's Notes<em>: Silver seems to end up on the bad end of everything I write with him in it. ._. I mean, look at what happened to him in my other story, The Wish. And he dies what'll probably be the strangest death I've ever wrote.

I'm sorry I killed Silvie. Oops.

I asked lots of questions to my mom and stepdad about how long dead bodies take to start smelling and I got the idea of what happened to Silver from some random movie my mom was watching on Lifetime. I don't really know why I suddenly thought of such an idea to kill a character, since I watched the movie way back in November, but it came to me when I was trying to sleep.


	6. Chapter Five

_Author's Notes: _Does five consectutive uses of the f word warrant a M rating?

...Nah.

I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this chapter. Just accept it for what it is. Pure and utter crap.

* * *

><p>Chapter Five<p>

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,_ fuck!"_ Gold shouted, slamming his fists on the ground with every word.

Red had nothing to say that could possibly comfort anyone. There was absolutely nothing that someone could do that could comfort someone who just saw their best friend dead in a bathtub. Not to mention how gruesome it was.

What the _hell _had happened to Silver?

"What… happened to him?" Red muttered.

"It… It looks like acid," Crystal quietly said. She was taking it calmer than Red thought she would. She was probably in shock. First Emerald, now Silver? Red was pretty shocked, too. "…Like the kind from a Pokémon," she added.

A bathtub full of acid? Oh, good god, what a way to go. No wonder the entire tub was filled with blood. If it was acid… Red knew full well that acid could and would eat through _anything_.

No person would willingly sit in a bathtub full of acid and not feel anything. They would immediately jump out of it as soon as they felt it.

This time, someone _did_ kill Silver. It wasn't a trap. Someone must've…

"…Drowned him," Green finished. Red realized with a start that he must've been talking aloud.

"Too many people left their rooms during this time, didn't they?" Professor Oak asked. "We can't pinpoint a single suspect now. If we had all stayed together…"

"Then this wouldn't have happened," Ruby said.

Red stared at the floor. He noticed that Gold had finally stopped saying "fuck" over and over, and was shaking violently from where he sat on the floor. That was how he'd expected Crystal to act. But… no.

What the hell was Red thinking? Crystal wouldn't have killed Silver.

But… she knew that the tub was full of acid… could you tell that just by looking at it?

"What do we do now?" Green asked.

Professor Oak frowned, apparently thinking about what they should do. Red was sure that they should all just stay together in one group, period. No exceptions. Not a single one.

He was about to suggest this when the screaming downstairs started.

* * *

><p>Yellow jumped when she heard screaming from upstairs. A sinking feeling spread through her body, and her chest tightened. That scream couldn't have meant well.<p>

It… Silver wouldn't be… _dead_, right?

"What was that?" Diamond asked.

"Let's not worry about it," Yellow said. "Maybe someone just got startled or something." This was what Yellow honestly hoped had happened. Everyone was so jumpy that if something fell from a wall, _someone_ would scream.

Blue had left the room soon after they'd gone in, saying that she wasn't going to sit around and wait. The scream didn't sound like it belonged to her. Maybe she'd decided to pull a prank, following everyone from behind and grabbing someone.

A clock ticked from up on the wall. Its noise suddenly seemed loud, very loud. It only served to make Yellow's nerves tighten. Pearl started tapping his foot on the floor, Diamond was chewing his nails, and Platinum stared at with a slightly bothered expression on her face.

"M-maybe when the storm clears up, we can go to the beach again?" Yellow suggested. She needed to fill the silence with some kind of conversation. Something to take her mind off things.

"I don't want to even look at another beach again," Pearl said.

"Oh." Yellow stared down at her boots. There went that conversation subject. "Maybe you and Diamond can do some stand-up?"

Pearl didn't say anything, ignoring the look from Diamond. The black-haired boy looked around for something, seemed to remember that something was in his pocket, and took out two Poké Balls. He placed them on his eyes, held his hands out, stood on one foot, and said, "I'm perfectly okaaaay!~"

The door burst open. The Poké Balls fell from Diamond's face and hit the floor as he turned to look. So did Yellow, Pearl, and Platinum. Blue stood there, her eyes wide, the whites of them standing out frighteningly on her face.

Yellow stood up. "Um… Blue?" she hesitantly began. "Are you okay…?"

"Silver's dead," Blue said. Her voice cracked as she said so, and tears quickly started running down her face. She stepped into the room and shut the door behind her.

She locked the door. Yellow flinched.

"Are you joking?" Pearl asked, his voice trembling. The realization of what Blue had just said was settling in on Yellow as well. Her vision blurred, her eyes stung, but she didn't start crying just yet.

"Would I joke about something like this?" Blue said, her voice unnaturally cold.

"I… don't know," he quietly responded.

Blue suddenly sank down to the floor. Her body shook as she started sobbing. Yellow quickly hurried across the room and knelt down next to her. The blonde girl hesitantly placed a hand on Blue's back, vaguely aware that she had started crying as well.

"Why is this happening?" Blue cried. "What'd we do to deserve any of this?"

"This… must be someone's sick idea of a joke," Pearl mumbled.

Blue's crying became even more hysterical. The brown-haired girl seemed to be scratching at her face as she cried. She suddenly screamed and uncovered her face.

"_I don't want to see anyone else die!"_ Blue shrieked.

She reached into a pocket on her skirt and pulled out a black, metallic object. Something clicked, and before Yellow could recognize what it was, it was pointed directly at her face.

"I'm not… I'm not going to let all of you die like Silver!"

Diamond started to scream. Blue pulled the gun trigger, and with a loud bang, Yellow crashed back to the floor, a hole in her forehead.

Pearl and Platinum jackknifed to their feet. Before anyone could do anything else, the gun shot another bullet. Pearl jumped, gave a shout, and grabbed his shoulder, blood quickly seeping through his shirt and over his hands.

Blue shot the gun again. Pearl sank to the floor.

Diamond couldn't believe what was happening. He found he couldn't move. Because… because this couldn't be right. This wasn't right. This… is couldn't be happening. This was just a dream. Pearl wasn't… and Yellow wasn't…

He looked back at Blue with wide, fearful eyes. And then he, too, sank to the floor after a fourth shot from the gun.

Someone was slamming on the door and shouting. Blue ignored the knocking and looked around the room for the fourth person. Platinum. Where had she gone?

There was a sharp pain in Blue's knee, and she dropped the gun without thinking, spinning around to find Platinum at the door behind her, fumbling with the lock. Blue lunged for the gun as the door swung open, and then someone was gripping her wrist tightly, holding it and the gun up in the air.

Platinum fell to her knees by the doorway. Bill grabbed her arm and pulled her the rest of the way out of the room, but the young girl was too busy sobbing hysterically and staring at the room she'd been close to dying in to notice.

"What the hell are you doing?" Green shouted. Blue struggled against his grasp and pulled the gun trigger again. Parts of the roof fell to the floor in a cloud of dust.

"I didn't want them to die like Silver did!" Blue shrieked. "Let me-"

There was a loud slap, and one side of Blue's face quickly turned red. Green had slapped her. Her grip on the gun loosened, and it fell to the ground. Professor Oak quickly stepped into the room, picked up the gun, and looked around the room, at the blood that stained the carpet, at the three young kids who now lay there, unable to blink or scream or breathe ever again.

It was now Red's turn to sink to the floor and scream.

* * *

><p>"Did you tie her down?" Ruby asked as Green left the spare room that they had all agreed to put Blue in. The older girl had gone into some strange, almost coma-like state, refusing to talk anymore but moving when they led her down the hall. As a precaution, they had tied Blue down to the bed she was now laying in, just to make sure she wouldn't get up again. The girl showed absolutely no sign of noticing that she was being tied down.<p>

"There was a room full of guns here," Professor Oak said, returning with Bill and Daisy alongside him. "That's where she got the gun from. I imagine that her discovering Silver dead must have made her snap." He lowered his head to the ground solemnly.

"Yeah, and kill Pearl, Diamond, and Ye-" Red stopped his sentence, his throat closing up and his vision blurring. He pressed his hands against his eyes in an attempt to make the tears disappear.

He couldn't believe this was happening. This wasn't right. This wasn't supposed to happen. People… People weren't supposed to _die_. Especially not the people he knew for years.

What would've happened if they hadn't caught Blue in time? If Platinum hadn't managed to escape the room before Blue shot her? Would Blue have shot herself as well?

But she wouldn't have been able to do that. When they opened up the gun, they found that there were no more bullets left. Blue wouldn't have been able to kill herself unless she would somehow manage to put the same bullet through herself and Platinum.

And poor Platinum. She'd seen three people shot right before her eyes. She hadn't gone completely mute like Blue had, but now sat quietly on the floor, having run out of any more tears to shed.

Gold was also not taking this nicely. He'd fallen unconscious at some point, so Bill and Daisy had brought him back to another downstairs room to let him lay in a bed. Crystal was still managing to keep herself under control, even after Blue had shot Diamond, Pearl, and Yellow.

"How're we even supposed to sleep tonight?" Ruby muttered.

"We'll all stay together, that's what we'll do," Professor Oak said. "Red, Ruby, Sapphire, Green. I want you in the room across the hall from Blue. Bill and Daisy, you and Daisy stay with Gold. Crystal and Platinum, you two can stay with whoever you'd like."

"I think… I'll stay with Gold, Daisy, and Bill," Crystal said.

Platinum lifted her head and pointed at Red. Which apparently meant she wanted to stay with him, Ruby, Sapphire, and Green.

"What about you, Professor Oak?" Sapphire asked.

"I'll stay in the hallway and keep watch," he answered. "Everyone, lock your doors tonight. No one is to-"

"We forgot about Hazuki," Ruby interrupted.

"Where'd she even go?" Green asked.

Everyone was silent. And then Red was running through the halls, checking through the rooms, until he found the one that housed a girl sitting in a corner with her hands over her ears.

"It over now?" Hazuki asked.

Red speculated that she must've been hiding in this room ever since they found Silver in the tub. He nodded. "Y… yeah."

"Would you like to stay with us?" Crystal asked. Red jumped, having not noticed that she was right behind him, or that she'd even followed him.

"I think I shall do that," Hazuki said. She slowly stood up, keeping her hands over her ears, as if something was still going to happen. She wobbled over to the two of them. "If you no mind."

"We all need to stick together," Crystal said. "So that no one else will…" Her voice cracked, and Crystal quickly covered her mouth. "So that no one else will d..." Her voice cracked once again. Red immediately knew what was about to happen next. He looked away quickly.

Crystal curled up into a ball on the floor and started to cry.

* * *

><p><em>Author's Notes<em>: In case anyone's wondering, I already know who the culprit is. And, hey, I just killed off three (technically four, if you include Silver) characters in one go. Aw, well, it's not like Diamond and Pearl were going to do much rather than try and do standup to lighten the mood.

I think I would snap if my sister was killed, and if my friends were with me, I might actually kill them (and then myself). Who wants to be stuck on a deserted island with a serial killer along with me, huh? WHO'S UP FOR IT?

Well, we've got Blue the murderer on hand. Is _she_ the mastermind? Tune in next time and see!

I should stop killing the mood like this, shouldn't I?


	7. Chapter Six

Author's Notes: Yeah, I have updating problems. This chapter's been done for a while, but, uh... Yeahhh...

I think I hate this story. Not as much as I hate The Wish, but it's getting there.

Also, the beginning of this chapter sucks.

* * *

><p>Chapter Six<p>

"_See that light?" Blue asked. "We're home free!"_

_Gripping the young Silver's hand tightly, Blue ran as fast as she could towards the light. "The outside world!"_

_They had escaped from their prison._

_Blue stopped, breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath. She released Silver's hand and placed both hands on her knees, continuing to try and catch her breath. Blue finally recovered enough to straighten back up and face Silver. "Silver, we–"_

_Silver lay in a tub of red, his hair floating up at the top of the water. Skin floated in the water along with the hair, though it failed to be attached to Silver's actual body._

_They weren't outside anymore. They were in a bathroom._

_Blue clapped a hand over her mouth and stumbled backwards, unable to even scream. She spun around, grabbed the doorknob, and swung open the door, running out into the hall._

_Except it wasn't a hall she was in. She stood in another room. And laying on the floor, in pools of blood, were Yellow, Diamond, and Pearl._

"_Who would…?!" she began, and was suddenly aware of something cold and heavy in her hand. She slowly turned to look down._

_A gun sat there, right in her own hand._

* * *

><p>Blue's eyes shot open, and she bolted upright. Or at least attempted to. She was restrained by several straps in her own bed. Her heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was about to burst. Blue squirmed around, but the straps refused to budge.<p>

She rested her head back on her pillow and stared up at the ceiling. What… had happened? Why was she being strapped down? What had happened for this to occur?

Blue finally noticed two people sitting next to her. She turned to find Red and Green sitting in two chairs, fast asleep. Red slept as peacefully as though it'd been just another day of battling and training, but Green's sleeping form was rigid, as though the slightest sound would wake him up.

And then Blue remembered everything.

Oh. Oh, god, no.

She… _Blue_ had…

She'd killed three people. Yellow, Diamond, and Pearl.

She'd killed them!

And yet, Red sat here next to her, watching over her, sleeping so peacefully.

Blue turned her face away from the two boys and started to cry. Her chest hurt. Her head hurt. Everything hurt, and the pain only worsened when she'd thought about everything that had happened. Her dream wasn't so much as a dream as it was a memory. Silver… and Yellow, and Diamond, and Pearl…

Someone placed a hand on her forehead. Blue stopped crying and turned back to see Green leaning over her. Red was awake as well. She'd woken them both up.

"Relax, Blue," Green said.

"Do you need anything?" Red asked. "Like something to drink or something to eat?"

And the fact that they were both treating her as normally as they had been, though they seemed a bit cautious, made Blue start crying again. Her tears ran down her cheeks, her neck, and into her hair.

"I'm sorry," she croaked, voice cracking as she finally spoke. "I'm so, so, so sorry."

But neither of them said it was okay. They just told her to relax and asked if she needed anything.

And of course it wasn't okay. She'd killed three people. She was a murderer, and there was nothing okay about that.

* * *

><p>"Now, it's time for a roll call," Professor Oak said. "Red, Green, and Blue?"<p>

"We're here," Red said.

"Crystal, Gold, Daisy, Bill?"

"Over here," Crystal said. "And Gold's still in his room, just like Blue," she added quietly.

Professor Oak nodded at her in acknowledgement. "Ruby, Sapphire, Platinum, Hazuki?"

"Here," Ruby said, gesturing at where the four of them sat together in a group.

"And then there's myself," the professor said. "It seems that everyone is still here. We managed to get through the night with no more deaths. This is good.

"Now, I've told you all multiple times to stay together. This counts even more for today than yesterday. Do not leave by yourself. If you must use the restroom, have someone accompany you and wait outside. You are not to go anywhere by yourselves. Do you all understand?"

"Yes."

"Then you may try and do as you please. Daisy, I was hoping to prepare some breakfast for everyone. Would you accompany me?"

"Of course, Grandfather," Daisy said.

Professor Oak and Daisy headed down one of the halls, off to the kitchen. Everyone else simply remained where they were, in the opening room of the mansion. Red felt like this room was the one safe place in the whole building. Hell, probably on the whole island. The storm was still raging outside, the wind violently rattling the windows and the rain pounding against the building. It would be impossible to go outside and make it very far.

Red hoped that Stephen would come back soon, before anything else happened. But as long as they stayed together, they were fine.

He watched as Crystal left the room to go sit with Gold, and Green left to go with Blue. Blue was conscious, unlike Gold, but wouldn't say anything other than "I'm sorry."

A sorry wouldn't fix what had happened. If it did, everything would be fine and dandy, now wouldn't it?

"I'd like to go back to my room," Platinum said. Hazuki nodded, hopping up from the couch and heading with her down the hall to the new rooms they were staying in, all together on the first floor. Red thought that Platinum was taking this all exceedingly well, which was rather odd.

Red shook his head and remained where he was on the chair, staring at the floor intently. He felt his Pokémon's Poké Balls rattle on his belt. They wanted to be let out, to comfort him, but Red didn't feel like talking to his Pokémon right now. He didn't want to talk to _anyone_.

Yellow was… she was dead.

And so were Silver, and Emerald, and Diamond, and Pearl… and that maid girl and Sebastian.

Seven people dead in less than two days.

"Red?" Sapphire's voice said. Red gave a start, having forgotten that Ruby, Sapphire, and Bill were still in the room with him.

"Sorry," he quickly said. He found himself starting to hate that word with a passion. "I was just… thinking."

They seemed to understand exactly what he was talking about, and didn't question it any further. They probably had a good idea of just what he was thinking about, of what was going through his mind.

The same thing was probably going through everyone's minds.

Except for the killer's.

* * *

><p>"Just what is this device?" Platinum asked, holding a snow-white rectangular device in her hands.<p>

"That's a DS," Hazuki said. "You play video games on it! You wanna try?"

"How does one turn it on?"

Hazuki showed Platinum how to turn on the DS. Platinum's eyes widened as the screen flashed on, displaying the various health risks from playing video games. As soon as she touched the bottom screen with her thumb, the game cartridge inside started to play.

"What… How do…? Eh? Ah, the Pokémon is moving on the screen! How do they do that? And how does such a tiny device make it work?"

Platinum's fascination with the DS seemed to make Hazuki feel proud, as if she was the one who invented it.

"Oh, yeah," Hazuki said. "You thirsty? I am. I was going to go get something to drink…"

Platinum didn't seem to want to leave the room. She was too fascinated with the DS. "It's all right," Platinum said. "I will lock the door behind you. Knock and tell me your name when you come back."

This seemed to be a good enough agreement for them both. Hazuki left the room, and Platinum locked the door after her. As a precaution, Platinum tried to open the locked down. Naturally, it didn't budge a bit. No one was going to get in here.

But what if someone went after Hazuki?

No, no, it was the hallway. It was safe out there. The rooms were so close to one another that if something happened to someone out in the hall, everyone else would know about it.

Nothing would happen to Hazuki.

Platinum sat down on the floor, at the edge of the bed, and turned her attention to the game. Something about the vivid colors of the game and the little Pokémon moving around on the screen was enough to take her attention off everything that had happened so far. She would have to thank Hazuki for letting her play the game later on.

The lights in the room flickered on and off. Platinum paid it no heed until they really did turn off, submerging her in darkness.

A chill hung in the air. Platinum wrapped her scarf around her neck a couple of times and shivered. It was getting awfully cold in here.

And then, she felt it. Something wrapping around her neck. Platinum dropped the DS and bolted up from the ground.

She turned around a couple of times, scanning the room intently. Nobody was in here. Nothing was wrong. She was just getting jumpy.

Platinum sat back down on the ground and hugged herself. No one was going to get into this room. Relax, Platinum Berlitz. Relax. Do those breathing exercises you read about in that one book.

Take in a deep breath… Let it out. A deep breath. And let it–

But Platinum suddenly couldn't let it out. She struggling to let out her breath, and finally succeeded. But then, she couldn't breathe back in. Her scarf tightened around her neck, tight enough to stop her from breath.

Platinum struggled to remove the scarf, but regardless of all the struggling, the scarf refused to loosen. It tightened even more. She tried to scream, but nothing came out.

Platinum reached for one of her Poké Balls, and found that they weren't there.

Of course not. She'd removed them and placed them on the bed earlier.

Platinum tried, tried, _tried_ to get someone's attention. Anyone's attention. She tried to call for Diamond and Pearl to help her, but of course they wouldn't help her, they _couldn't_ help her, and they would never help her again.

Her thoughts became scrambled and difficult to comprehend.

She should have died in that room, Platinum decided. She should've sat there and allowed Blue to kill her.

She didn't… She didn't want to die like Silver.

She should've let herself get shot. A simple, easy way to die. Then she'd be with Diamond and Pearl.

Platinum kicked her legs, tore at her scarf, tried to breathe, tried to scream.

And then her body went limp. The scarf around her neck loosened and fluttered to the floor.

The door unlocked.

* * *

><p>"Where's Platinum?" Daisy asked Hazuki as she arrived from the kitchen, looking a bit bothered because of the body that lay in there. Two glasses of water sat in her hands.<p>

"Eh? I leave her in room," Hazuki said.

"But Grandfather told us not to leave each other by ourselves!"

"But, she lock door behind me… No one will get into the room now."

A frown crossed Daisy's face, and she decided to follow Hazuki back to the room Platinum and Hazuki were staying in. Hazuki knocked on the door with her head, as both hands held the glasses of water. Daisy heard someone across the hall leave their room and turned to find Bill leaving Gold's room. He raised an eyebrow as Hazuki knocked on the door with her head again.

"What's the girl doin'?" Bill asked.

"Platinuuuum?" Hazuki asked. "You there? You didn't leave, right?"

"Try the door," Daisy said. She reached out and turned the doorknob herself.

The door swung open.

Platinum wasn't in the room.

"…Where'd she go?" Bill asked.

"Eh? Ehhh? I… I leave her in room. She locked door behind me, I swear! I check, too!" Hazuki protested.

"You… left her _alone?"_ Bill asked in disbelief.

Hazuki flinched. She stepped backwards into the room, shaking her head frantically. "I… We both thought it was safe. I… I'm sure Platinum, she just had to go to the bathroom with DS…"

"You left her alone in the room?!" Bill repeated. He followed Hazuki into the room, grabbed her shoulders, shook her. Hazuki dropped the glasses to the floor, the water spilling out across the carpet. Daisy followed after Bill, grabbing him by the shoulder. "We agreed not to let anyone be by themselves! And ya left her alone?!"

"I-It okay! She is okay, I'm sure!"

"You're _sure?_ What makes ya so sure?! What if she's–"

The door slammed shut behind the three of them.

The door locked.

* * *

><p>"I think we should move the rest of our things out of our rooms," Green suggested to Red, Ruby, and Sapphire, who sat with him together in the room Blue was sleeping in.<p>

Red nodded in agreement. He'd feel safer if he had all of his things with him, for some reason. And it would give him something to do, too.

Red, Ruby, and Sapphire decided to head upstairs and clear out the rooms, getting their own things as well as Green and Gold's things. Red shuddered when his eyes landed on the closed bathroom door, where Silver currently lay. He was faintly aware of a smell in the hall and gagged. He quickly covered his nose with his shirt.

"Your room first," Ruby said.

The room was luckily scentless, unlike the hall, but Red quickly gathered his and Green's backpacks. He remembered the clothes inside the dresser and opened the doors to them.

And felt all of the color drain from his face.

"What… is…"

Platinum sat inside the dresser, hanging from the clothes hanger pole by her scarf. It went without saying that she'd stopped moving some time ago.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Aw, and Platinum was my favorite. Why'd I have to kill her?<p>

'CAUSE THAT'S THE WAY OF THE UNIVERSE. I'll stop attempting to make jokes with such a SERIOUS SITUATION IN A FICTIONAL STORY, YO.


	8. Chapter Seven

Author's Notes: Will there ever be a chapter of this where somebody _doesn't_ die?

...

Answer: No.

Oh, hey. I'm officially eighteen now. I turned eighteen on Wednesday. :3

* * *

><p>Chapter Seven<p>

Red tripped as he bounded down the stairs two at a time. As he collapsed at the bottom of the stairs, he felt two pairs of hands yanking him up the floor from behind; Ruby and Sapphire were close behind him, and were already working to help him stand up again.

There was no way that nobody could hear the sound that they were making. Green, Professor Oak, and Crystal came running towards them into the main room.

"Just what is going on here?!" Professor Oak exclaimed.

"It's... Platinum," Red huffed. He suddenly felt sick, though Platinum's death was nowhere near as gruesome as some of the other things he'd seen these past couple of days. "She's... in my closet..."

"In your closet?" Crystal asked in confusion.

"She... hung herself," Red managed to get out.

The entire room fell silent.

"Why would she go in your closet?" Green asked.

"Like I know!" Red snapped. "I opened up the closet doors to get my stuff out, and there she was, in my closet, hanging from the top by her scarf."

Oh, god. Now Platinum was dead. The girl who spoke so haughtily and seemed to be utterly clueless about many things was... dead. Just like that. Just like Yellow was. Now the three youngest kids here were all gone.

"But how did she end up alone?" Crystal asked in a quiet voice, lifting her hands and covering her mouth.

"She was with Hazuki, the last I saw of her," Green said.

"And where is Hazuki right now?" Professor Oak asked.

"I saw her earlier," Crystal said. "She was passing by the room I was in with Daisy. Bill was with me, and he left when he heard something out in the hall..."

Red lifted his head from where he was staring at the floor. He was suddenly aware that the three people in question weren't there in the room with them, despite all the noise they'd been making.

Red took off running down the hall, passing room after room, off to the room that Hazuki and Platinum had been in. He ignored Gold, who was standing in the entrance to his own room, looking dazed as he blankly stared at Red running down the hall.

Red found the door to the room tightly shut. He started knocking on the door as hard as he could. He rattled the doorknob. The door didn't budge.

Were Daisy, Bill, and Hazuki in this room? If so, why weren't they answering? Why was the door locked if they were in the room?

What if they were in the room with the killer right this instant?

Pika suddenly released itself from its Poké Ball. It lunged forwards and bit Red's leg. Red jumped back from the door with a loud yelp, staring down at Pika, whose fur was bristling as it stared at the door.

Red pointed at the door. "Pika, use Volt Tackle!" Red ordered.

Pika electrocuted him instead.

"This is serious!" Red snapped. "What's your problem?! Bill and Daisy and Hazuki could be stuck in there right now with the killer!"

"Red," Green said. Red looked at him surprise, unaware that he'd already caught up with him so quickly. "Don't you smell that?"

"Smell what–" Red began, but stopped. He frowned and inhaled deeply, smelling a foul odor. Well, it wasn't as foul as some other odors he'd smelt these past few days, but it smelt more like... like gas or...

Gas...?

"Everyone, cover your faces!" Green shouted back at Crystal, Professor Oak, Ruby, and Sapphire. Gold had retreated back into his room at Crystal's order.

Red watched as Green sent out his Machamp; the tall, muscular, four-armed Pokémon headed up to the door and ripped it off its hinges, without a single command from its trainer.

A cloud of purple and orange billowed out of the room. Red instantly stumbled back, but Green grabbed his arm and ran down the hall with Machamp and Pika close behind. Red tripped and crashed to the floor, pulling Green down with him.

"Those clouds..." Sapphire began. "I recognize 'em! They're from Stun Spore and Poison Gas!"

Stun Spore and Poison Gas? Red recognized the names as Pokémon moves. One created a cloud of poisonous gas – hence the name – while the other was a powder that paralyzed anything it landed on. If either of them were inhaled, and at that amount of it, then...

Oh, no.

"But nothing was leaking out of the room!" Professor Oak said in what Red assumed was surprise. "It must have been closed off by something!"

"No," Green said. He pointed at one of the doors. "Just look at any of the other doors. With the way it's built, nothing can go under the door. And it worked against us."

"But..." Red started. "We don't know if anybody was in there, right?"

Green was staring at him with his usual impassive expression on his face. Red realized with a sinking feeling that he was going to be stuck with checking the room with Green.

It was times like these that Red hated being a hero.

Red and Green slowly proceeded down the hall, keeping their mouths and noses covered with their shirts. The orange powder had vanished from the air, but the purple cloud was still there, though not as thick as it had been before when it came out of the room.

But... Red realized that _if_ Bill, Hazuki, and Daisy were in the room...

Green would wind up seeing his own sister dead.

Red stopped Green before they reached the room. "I'll check the room first," he offered.

"Why–"

"Because if your sister's in there..."

Green seemed to get at what Red was saying, though he clearly didn't agree with staying back. He crossed his arms across his chest and stared at Red.

Red gulped down the lump in his throat and stepped into the room.

And another three were adding to the growing list of deceased people.

"Well?" Green asked.

Red stepped out of the room and slowly shook his head.

The anger on Green's face was mistakable. You'd have to be blind not to see it. Even if you _were_ blind, you would see it. And Red knew that, in that moment, if Green caught whoever the killer was, they were going to be dead from his hands.

* * *

><p>Gold wondered what was going on upstairs. First Crystal had left the room when they heard a lot of banging going around upstairs – and Gold preferred not to think about what was upstairs – and then there was a lot of running out in the hall. Gold had gone to see what was happening, had spotted Red running past his room, watched Red try to get into one of the rooms down the hall, and then Crystal had told him to stay in his room and not come out until she said so.<p>

Gold hated being told what to do, but he'd listened. He couldn't believe like he was being treated as if there was something wrong with _him._ What did they expect, though, after what Gold had seen? And why wasn't anybody else as bothered about it as much as he was? Well, Blue had been bothered by it, too, but a little _too_ much; Crystal had told Gold about how Blue had snapped and killed Diamond, Pearl, and Strawhat Girl – er, Yellow.

Blue was the one that they should be treating carefully. Not Gold. He didn't do anything at all.

Gold sat back on his bed, grabbed the glass of water at his bedside and gulped it down.

He felt something scrap against his teeth and fall back into his mouth. Before he could stop himself, he swallowed. And instantly, an unbelievable pain spread throughout his whole body. A horrendous amount of metal-flavored liquid pooled up into Gold's mouth, and he started to choke.

Gold fell off his bed and fell to the floor.

Something broke through his neck, and blood spilled out onto the floor.

* * *

><p>"This is the last straw," Professor Oak said. "I don't know how many times I need to say it, but now I'm saying that we all stay together, as a group, no exceptions. When one goes, all must follow. Do you hear me?"<p>

"What good is that going to do?" Ruby asked. "Bill, Daisy, and Hazuki weren't alone. They were together in a group, and they were murdered as a group."

"If we're all alert, then nothing can catch us by surprise," said Professor Oak. "Now, Crystal, if you may please go get Gold out here. Red, I'd like you to get Blue."

"But she's–"

"Nobody will have any weapons with them," the professor interrupted him. "We shall check every one of us for weapons."

Red didn't see how this made a difference – you still had your own body to attack with, after all – but he headed down the hall to the room Blue was in. Though, technically, didn't his going to the room alone go against the professor's new rule?

Blue was still in bed, staring at the ceiling with blank eyes.

"What happened?" Blue asked. She sounded exhausted, tired, her voice raspy.

"Platinum, Bill, Daisy, and Hazuki are all dead," Red quickly said. He started undoing the straps holding her down in bed. When the last one was undone, the brown-haired girl sat up, rubbing her arms absentmindedly. Red noticed red marks on her arms – the straps must have been tighter than he'd thought.

A shriek in the room next to theirs made both of them jump. Red helped Blue stand; then they were out of the room, finding that Crystal had flung herself out into the hall, leaning against the wall across the hall, hands over her head, body in a ball as she shrieked.

Red and Blue rushed into the room before everyone else caught up with them.

Gold lay there on the floor, almost curled into a ball himself, on his side. Blood stained the floor, coming from his mouth, from his neck. And from his neck.

"What's _that?"_ Red asked, feeling sick to his stomach once again. He inched towards Gold carefully. Something shiny was sticking out of his throat. It almost looked like a... like a razor. Like the tiny razors people shaved with.

"The glass," Blue mumbled.

Red noticed the glass that sat near Gold's hand. Thought after thought entered his head.

The razor blade. The drink in Gold's hand.

He couldn't have choked on the drink itself. He wouldn't have stabbed himself in the throat while he was drinking something, either, because that didn't make sense at all.

What if...

The razor blade had been _in_ his drink?

How could that have even happened?

Wait.

If no one had changed the glass for a while, who knows how long the razor blade could have been sitting there, unnoticed, in the bottom of the glass? A razor blade so tiny that it would have easily gone unnoticed.

"Out of the room," Professor Oak's strained voice said. A hand clamped down on his shoulder, making Red jump. He and Blue were turned around and pushed out of the room. Ruby and Sapphire had moved the hysterical Crystal out into the main room, where Green also sat, staring at the floor in silence.

Red couldn't believe it. Already, five of them were dead today.

And now only seven of them were left.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: You know what really helps when I'm writing this chapter? Listening to the Eat, Pray, Love soundtrack.<p>

...That was sarcasm. But my mom's playing the CD out loud and it doesn't fit the mood at all, and I'm laughing while I'm writing this chapter, and oh, god, it was FUNNY.

I really don't know what to write next now. Maybe there'll be a calm chapter, where nobody dies for once. That would be nice. Yeah.

Gold: That's not gonna happen, is it?

ARGH, IT'S GOLD'S GHOST! GOLD'S GHOST HAS COME TO HAUNT ME! CALL THE EXTERMINATORS! THE EXORCISTS!

People hate me for killing Silver. But now I killed our last source of comic relief. No, wait, we still got Ruby and Sapphire. Ho-ho-ho.


	9. Chapter Eight

Author's Notes: Well, here's a lighthearted chapter. I fail at everything, by the way. I just want this story to end so I can stop killing people's hopes and dreams.

ALSO! WHO DIDN'T TELL ME THAT THEY WERE PUBLISHING THE RUBY/SAPPHIRE ARC OF POKEMON ADVENTURES? I just found out, like, yesterday, and I practically peed on myself from excitement. Sorry for the visual, but that's pretty much what I did. I'm so glad I saved my gift card from Christmas, 'cause now I'll be able to buy it when it comes out!

I'm just afraid of the edits they're gonna do it... I mean, given that Crystal's mom was edited out from slapping her, what're they gonna do with that fight between Norman and Ruby? Just cut it out completely or something?

I'll let you get to the chapter now. This chapter sucks, by the way. Probably one of my least-favorites so far.

* * *

><p>Chapter Eight<p>

Red stared out the window, watching the rain fall from the sky. Lightning flashed, brightening the dark clouds and allowing Red to see the shapes of them.

Nothing was ever going to be the same from now on. Yellow was dead. Now Gold was dead. The people who he was close with were just dying left and right because of some deranged killer on the island, whose identity they didn't even know.

The room was silent. They were in an unused room now, because Professor Oak deemed that staying in the same rooms as before was dangerous. So it was just Red, Green, Blue, Ruby, Sapphire, Professor Oak, and an unconscious Crystal in the room.

What was taking Stephen so long? Why hadn't he come back with help yet? Had he gotten into an accident with Gyara while they were heading across the ocean?

"I think that we should play a game," Blue offered. Red looked back at her in confusion. She'd suddenly cheered up after they were in this room for a while, and it was honestly beginning to creep Red out.

Blue suddenly smiled. "Let's play an intense game of strip poker."

"How about no?" Green said.

"Sapphire, let me do your hair," Ruby said.

"What, no!" Sapphire screeched.

"Why? It'll give me something to do, and besides, your hair is awfully messy..."

Ruby reached for Sapphire's head, but she quickly smacked his hands away.

"I-I didn't say you could touch me like that..." Sapphire grumbled.

"Ruby, you can do my hair!" Blue called.

"Fine! I'll do Blue's hair, then," Ruby said. He stood and headed across the room to where Blue said, and pulled out styling items from seemingly nowhere. Okay, seriously, where had he just taken that hairbrush out from?

"See, Sapphire?" Ruby asked. "This is how your hair _should_ look. Clean, smooth, knot-free. Blue's hair is much more fun to play with."

"W-what?!" Sapphire said.

"What conditioner do you use, Blue?" Ruby asked.

Blue told him. And then she and Ruby entered a conversation about different brands of shampoo and conditioner. Red had no idea what they were talking about, and guessing by a quick glance, neither did Green, Sapphire, or Professor Oak.

"Er... you know, if you mix certain berries and plants together, you can make yourself a homemade conditioner!" Sapphire offered.

"Why would I want to put wild things in my hair?" Ruby asked.

"W-why not! It's all natural and doesn't have all those chemicals! What you're doing to your hair is horrible!"

"Clearly not. It's silky smooth."

"I'll try it out, Sapphire," Blue offered. "Tell me the ingredients."

"O-oh, well, we can make it when we get home. I'm pretty sure there aren't any berries on the island, though..."

"There's actually some stuff growing around the place," Red said. "I spotted it before..."

"Nobody is leaving on a search for _berries,"_ Professor Oak interrupted.

"Yes, sir!" Red said.

"Strip poker?" Blue suggested.

"NO, BLUE."

Red thought back to the conversation. When they got home. More like _if_ they got home. Red wasn't a pessimist in the least, but lately, he'd been having nothing but bad thoughts. Would he ever think on the bright side again?

...Well, on the bright side, at least no one wanted to play strip poker with Blue. There was a bit of a bright side, Red supposed.

Red didn't know what time it was, or how much time had passed. His stomach was hurting, though – he hadn't ate anything yet. No breakfast, no lunch, no nothing.

His stomach let out a particularly loud grumble, and everyone minus the unconscious Crystal turned to stare at him.

"Uh, sorry," Red said. "I guess I'm kinda hungry..."

"Let's all head to the kitchen and get something to eat," Professor Oak said. "Blue, could you wake up Crystal?"

"Right," Blue said. She moved over to the bed Crystal was in, grabbing the girl's shoulder and shaking her. Crystal's eyes shot open, and she bolted upright. She looked around the room in confusion, then seemed to realize where she was.

"Crystal?" Sapphire said, approaching Crystal carefully. "We're goin' down to the kitchen to get something to eat. Come on with us."

"Right," Crystal said. She stood from the bed and walked out of the bedroom with the rest of them.

Red had the feeling that something was wrong with Crystal, but he couldn't quite place what it was. There was definitely something wrong with her, though.

The dining room was the same as it had been before. Red grabbed a bag of bread, grabbed a jar of peanut butter, and took a plate from the pile stacked on the table. Everyone else began getting their own things to eat.

"Stop it!" Crystal suddenly shouted. Red looked back at her curiously to find her yelling at the empty space next to her.

"Gold, seriously, I'm not going to make you something with 'love' in it!" Crystal snapped. "Jeez. Get serious for once, won't you?!"

Everyone was staring at Crystal, but if she noticed, she didn't show it.

"Don't bring anything up to her," Green hissed at Red. Red nodded and quickly went back to making a peanut butter sandwich.

They headed back to the room they were staying in, talking with one another. Well. Most of them were talking with each other. Crystal was still having a conversation with "Gold."

Red sat on the windowsill and ate his sandwich, wishing that he would've grabbed something to drink while he was at it, because all the peanut butter he'd put on his sandwich was sticking to the roof of his mouth.

Crystal suddenly giggled, clapping a hand over her mouth. She glared at the spot next to her. "No, I didn't just laugh! It's not funny! No, I don't care if it reminds you of that time you gave your Typhlosion peanut butter! Stop it, Gold, it's not funny!"

Red's chest began to hurt as he watched Crystal carry on an imaginary conversation with the imaginary Gold. Poor Crystal. He didn't want to know how she'd react when she found out that there was no Gold anymore.

"Sapphire," Ruby said, reaching out and touching Sapphire's hair. "Your hair... it's so coarse and rough. Don't tell me that you've been using that homemade conditioner on it."

"W-what's it to you?!" Sapphire snapped, swatting his hand away. Red noticed that she was blushing. Oh, that's right. Didn't she like Ruby? Was Ruby flirting with her or something? Red could never tell if someone was flirting or not. He was oblivious to things like romance.

Well, not completely immune to it. But he was pretty immune to it. Just like a Wailord or something.

Hmm. Well, maybe not like a Wailord...

"Strip poker _now?"_ Blue asked.

"Blue," Green said. "For the last time, we aren't playing strip poker."

"See, Gold?" Crystal asked. "Nobody wants to play that stupid game. I mean... who wants to lose their clothes like that...?"

"I'm starting to feel so bored that I just might be up for a game of strip poker," Ruby said.

"Well, I'm not playing!" Sapphire asked.

"Why not?" Ruby asked.

"Why do you think?!"

"I don't know what the problem is. Don't you like to wear leaves for clothes? You clearly have no problem with nudity."

"Wha–?!"

Sapphire turned away from him, face completely red. Okay, yeah, she totally liked him. Maybe Red could help out with the little situation...

"Sapphire," Red said, "do you like–"

In an instant, Green's hand was clamped down over his mouth. Red looked at him expectantly.

"Red, whatever you were thinking of doing, it is not going to help," Green hissed. Red nodded.

"Ruby and Sapphire, you two really get along, don't you?" Blue asked. Green's head whirled around, and he glared at Blue, but she didn't seem to notice.

"You really think so...?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah! Maybe... Maybe you two should live together! Hah!"

"WHAT?!" Sapphire screamed.

"That would require me to live in the wild, and I'm never going to do that," Ruby said.

"Y-you wouldn't live with me?" Sapphire asked.

Ruby was about to answer when Professor Oak spoke up.

"Let's get something to drink," Professor Oak conveniently interrupted them with. Red let out a sigh of relief he hadn't realized he'd been holding. That could have been really, really awkward. Thank Arceus the professor interrupted when he did.

They headed back down to the kitchen, where only Professor Oak had the guts to enter the kitchen and get them all glasses of water. They headed back to the room, walking through the increasingly dark hallways. It must have been getting close to night, Red suspected.

"What time is it?" Ruby asked.

"Let's see... almost nine at night," the professor said, checking a watch on his wrist.

Ruby sighed and fixed the strange hat he wore over his hair. He muttered something that Red couldn't hear under his breath.

They reached the room and, after spending another long time doing absolutely nothing, decided to go to bed. Professor Oak insisted that they must all sleep in the same room, but there were only two beds in the room, so...

Red climbed into bed next to Green, giddy and excited for reasons not even Red understood. Professor Oak opted to sleep in a chair. Ruby climbed into bed next to Red.

"Oh, guys, I think I should probably mention my, um... strange little sleeping habit," Red said.

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

"I sometimes kiss things in my sleep. Like, real passionate kisses. I woke up once and found lipstick all over my pillow."

Green stared at him. "What were you wearing lipstick to bed for?"

"So I could track my kissing habits, duh," Red said. "I'm telling you, that pillow looked like someone wanted to color in that pillow with red. My mom was pissed at me the next morning for wearing her lipstick, though."

Green and Ruby were silent. Then they both got out of bed and went to sleep on the floor.

"What, you don't wanna sleep with me now?" Red asked.

"Uh, no," Green said.

Red shrugged. It didn't matter to him. It just meant that he had more room to sleep with. As he settled down in bed, he realized how relaxed everything seemed, and how Red was almost acting like himself again.

It wasn't right. He shouldn't have been acting like this. He should have been freaking out that there was a murderer somewhere on the island and that Red might be the next person to get killed. And yet, here he was, getting happy about sleeping in a big bed all by himself.

Red took his Pokémon's Poké Balls and placed them right next to him in bed. Three on one side, two on the other. If something happened, he could just reach for one and sent them out. Well, that was assuming that he didn't sleep so violently that he knocked the balls out of reach.

Blue turned out the lights, and they went to bed, the wind howling outside, the rain beating down against the windows.

But Red didn't go to sleep. He was wide awake, afraid now. What if... what if the killer was right here in the room with them?

Red looked up from the bed slightly, looking at everybody, one by one.

The professor was too old to be doing all these crimes.

Blue couldn't have killed Bill, Daisy, and Hazuki; she'd been strapped into bed.

Crystal... Could Crystal have done it? She certainly wouldn't have killed Gold, though, and what reason would she have to kill the other three? And everyone else before them?

Ruby... Now that was a real possibility. Could Ruby be the killer? He looked prissy, though, so would he really want to deal with blood?

Sapphire didn't seem all too bright, but maybe she _was_ smart enough to kill people without others finding out her identity. And yet, Red knew that wasn't the case.

Green.

It couldn't be Green, could it? Yet Green seemed to know exactly what was going on, exactly what had happened, and...

No. It wasn't Green at all. It couldn't be Green. That was ridiculous.

Red felt ashamed for even suspecting the people in the room as potential murderers, but he was beginning to feel paranoid, and the wind and rain outside certainly wasn't helping with his anxiety. But, somehow, Red managed to fall asleep.

He rolled over and kicked the three Poké Balls on his left side out of bed. They rolled to the floor and remained there.

* * *

><p>In the middle of the night, Sapphire woke up.<p>

Everyone else was fast asleep. But Sapphire had the unfortunate urge to use the restroom.

It would be too much trouble to wake up her seniors and ask one of them to come to the bathroom with her. But she didn't want what had happened with Emerald to happen to her. After all, five people had died today. Who wasn't to say that she would be the sixth?

No. Sapphire was strong. She was stronger than Ruby, probably, maybe, maybe not. But she could fend for herself. She'd been in plenty of tight situations before, which she had escaped thanks to her own ideas and with the help of her Pokémon.

Sapphire checked to make sure that her Pokémon's Poké Balls were still at her waist. Then she got out of bed and headed down the empty, dark hall.

The wind howled at increasing volumes. Sapphire was used to howling wind, though. All those nights she'd spent out in the wild had paid off, because while other people may have been frightened by the sound of the wind, Sapphire was completely immune to it.

The entire mansion creaked with the wind's impact on the building. Places upstairs creaked, sounding almost like there were people in every room.

"You don't scare me," Sapphire muttered under her breath. She balled up her hands into tight fists and picked up her pace down the hall.

She found the bathroom at the end of the hall; not the same bathroom that Emerald had been in, though. That room was off limits.

Sapphire shut the bathroom door, locked it, and did her business in the bathroom. She washed her hands quickly, dried them on a tiny hand towel, and opened the bathroom door.

Standing there was a tall figure.

Sapphire stared at the figure in shock. Then it lunged forwards, punched her head hard, snapping it to the side. Sapphire was still conscious as she fell to the side and struck her head on the side of the kitchen sink.

That was enough to knock her unconscious. She collapsed to the floor.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: So, wait, wait, wait. Sapphire makes homemade conditioner for her hair, Red passionately kisses things in his sleep, and now Crystal's talking to an imaginary Gold.<p>

Gold: Sounds like a standard quality Loveon-story.

ARGH, GOLD'S GHOST IS STILL HERE, IT'S STILL HAUNTING ME, MOMMY, HELP! GREEN, MAKE IT GO AWAY!

Green: ...


	10. Chapter Nine

Author's Notes: I wish I had that new Pokémon Adventures volume. The Ruby and Sapphire one. It wasn't in the bookstore when I went there, so I had to order it. And I don't know when I'll be able to get that book at the bookstore...

Not like anyone cares about my ramblings. On with the chapter!

* * *

><p>Chapter Nine<p>

"Sapphire? Sapphire, where are you?!"

Red was awake and out of bed in an instant. As he jumped out of bed, his foot landed on a Poké Ball on the floor. His foot swung off to the left, and he crashed to the floor, landing hard on his wrist. Red hissed, holding his wrist in pain. Well. That didn't feel quite right.

"What's going on?" he asked, standing up from the floor and looking at where Crystal was wandering around the room. The bedroom door was open, and since Blue was gone, Red assumed that she must have been out in the hall.

"Sapphire wasn't here when I woke up," Crystal answered. "I don't know where she could be... I thought she would've woken one of us up if she had to do something..."

Professor Oak, Green, and Ruby were still asleep, but with the noise Crystal was making, they, too, were beginning to wake up. Green opened his eyes first, blinking just a few times before he was wide awake in an instant. Damn him. Red wished he could be wide awake, just like that.

"What's happening?" Green asked.

"Sapphire's gone."

Ruby was up in an instant. "She is not."

"Yes, she is," Red said. "She must've left to go to the bathroom or something. So maybe we should check there–"

"Guys?!" Blue's voice, out in the hall, sounded shrill and panicky. "Guys, guys, someone get over here, right now. Right now."

Red was out in the hall and running down it as fast as he could, Green and Ruby at his heels. At the end of the hall, the one leading away from the main room, Blue stood, pointing a shaking finger at the door there.

"What is it?" Green asked.

"Ruby, you don't want to see this," Blue said.

"Why?" Ruby said. Realization seemed to dawn on him. "No..."

Red and Green hurried around the corner to see what it was that Blue was talking about. And there, on the bathroom floor, was Sapphire.

Someone had beaten her.

To death.

"No, no, _no._" Ruby said. "Are you sure? Are you absolutely _sure?"_

Red gulped. He slowly inched into the bathroom. He bent down, hesitantly pressing two fingers against Sapphire's cold neck. He'd seen people on TV do it to check for a pulse.

There was nothing pulsing back at Red when he pressed those two fingers against her neck.

"Well?" Green asked.

Red shook his head. "There's... nothing," he said. "Ruby," he quickly said, "I'm really, really sorry..."

There was some kind of strange cry, and then the sound of something hitting the floor. Blue left from Red's sight, probably to go tend to Ruby, if Red was guessing correctly.

"I don't understand..." Red quietly said. "Who would do this? Do they think this is fun? Do they find enjoyment in killing kids like us? What the hell... What the hell is the point of this?!" he shouted, his voice getting gradually louder as he spoke.

"I don't know," Green said. "Let's get out of here. Close the bathroom door behind yourself."

Red nodded. He stood and left the bathroom, glancing back at Sapphire one final time. Sapphire, the "wild child" who fought with Ruby all the time but really cared about him on the inside.

Red gently shut the door behind himself and headed back down the hall.

* * *

><p>Professor Oak couldn't believe that another one of them had died under his plan to stay together and be alert. He went to go check on Sapphire himself, too, as if they were making the story up themselves, and came back with a solemn expression on his face.<p>

"I'm going to attempt to use all of the phones today," Professor Oak said. "I'm assuming that something must have happened to Stephen on his way to Vermillion. We'll need to get help ourselves, but with this hurricane happening right now, I'm afraid to say that leaving the island right now is near impossible.

"I want all of you to stay together. Where you go, you take everyone else with you. I'll be checking the entire building for working phones. I would like all of you to try and use your PokéGears to make contact as well."

Professor Oak left the room then, leaving them all behind.

Red stared at Ruby, who sat in a chair with his head in his hands. Red didn't hear any audible sounds coming from him, but he knew that Ruby must have been devastated. Sapphire was dead, after all. Crystal was sitting on a bed close by, crying, and Blue was alternating between comforting the two.

Even Red found it hard to believe that another one of them was dead. Red was beginning to become aware of a growing pain in the center of his chest, and every time something bad happened, the pain grew. His wrist was hurting, too, but it was nowhere compared to the pain in his chest.

"Let's try our PokéGears," Green suggested. He took out his own watch-like device and punched in a number to all. Red did the same with his own, but the result was exactly as he predicted.

Nothing.

"I've got nothing," said Green.

"Same here," Blue said.

"Yeah, me, too," Red said.

"I'm guessing it'll be the same for Crystal and Ruby," Green said. "Let's hope Grandfather finds a way to contact for help."

"Will the professor be okay, though, going by himself?" Red asked.

"He'll be fine," Green said. Then he muttered, "Probably."

They fell silent. Red watched as Blue moved back and forth across the room, moving from Ruby to Crystal and back again. While Blue was tending to Crystal, though Ruby suddenly leaped up from the chair and raced out of the bedroom.

"Wait!" Blue shouted.

"We'll go after him," Green said. 'We' being Green and Red. Damn. "Stay with Crystal."

They rushed out into the hall and ran after Ruby, who was already much farther ahead of them. He turned sharply left, out into the main room, and Red heard him going up the stairs there.

But when Red and Green made it into the main room, Ruby was nowhere to be seen. They ran up the stairs and looked at each other.

"You search the right side of the place. I'll go left," Green said. Red nodded, and the two split up, running through the halls.

Wasn't this what the professor warned them not to do? Not to be alone? And yet here they were, splitting up. He was sure, though, that the situation they were in made it okay.

Red searched back and forth, looking into each of the rooms, wondering if Ruby had locked himself in one of rooms. If he had, though, how was Red possibly going to find him? There were hundreds of rooms!

Red skidded to a stop and listened carefully. He heard footsteps, upstairs. Either it was Ruby or the professor, but judging by the fact that it sounded more like running, he was sure that it had to be Ruby. The professor wouldn't be running, that's for sure.

"Damn it, Ruby..." Red muttered. He ran down the hall in search of the stairs heading up a floor.

* * *

><p>This couldn't be right. Sapphire couldn't be dead. This had to be a joke. She wasn't dead. The wild, barbarian girl who wore leaves for clothes and hated everything that Ruby liked was... she was...<p>

Gone.

Why hadn't Sapphire woken anyone up? If she had, she would be safe! This wouldn't have happened! She would be okay!

She was gone. Gone forever, and there was nothing Ruby could do now to change it.

Ruby heard footsteps thundering around downstairs. Someone was searching for him. Red and Green, he guessed. But Ruby wasn't going to return to that room to have Blue alternate between comforting him and Crystal. Comforting him wasn't going to make a difference. It wasn't going to bring Sapphire back to life.

Ruby turned left, flinging open one of the many doors and running into the room. He shut the door behind himself. Stumbling back into the room, Ruby wearily looked around. It was a large room, mostly empty, aside from a couple of boxes and a dusty dresser.

"Sapphire... Sapphire..." Ruby pulled at his white hat, shifting it slightly, the scar from that Salamence in his childhood showing. That's right, it had been because of that incident that he'd decided to change his ways, from battling to contests... And it had also been when he met Sapphire.

He didn't understand. Why was this happening? He should have... he should have at least showed Sapphire that he liked her, too! He knew she had to have remembered the confession he made to her, but she had never tried to bring it up. He should have done something, _anything,_ just to...

Ruby pulled his hands away from his head and saw a strange, yet interesting, sight. Purple swirls hovered around his hands. Ruby moved his hand back and forth, and slow images of his hands followed the path they made. When Ruby looked up, he saw similar swirls and colors all around the world.

Boxes turned into a kaleidoscope of boxes. The carpet turned blue, yellow, green, gold, silver, all sorts of colors. Butterfree flitted about among the colors. Colors shattered into different colors, exploded into more kaleidoscopes of images.

He saw Sapphire's face among those images. Smiling, shouting, crying. Her face spread into two faces, four faces, eight faces, sixteen faces, and then morphed together into another Butterfree that flew around the room.

"Sapph... ire..." Ruby managed to say.

He did not notice the figure rising up from behind the boxes.

He did not notice the sharp piece of wood that shot through his body.

* * *

><p>"Ruby, come on already!" Red shouted. "Where are you? Stop hiding already!"<p>

But Red couldn't blame him. Red himself had wanted to run off and be alone when Yellow had... died... But he hadn't done it. He controlled himself and remained with everybody.

"RUBY!" Red shouted. His voice almost seemed to echo back at him, but that might have been Red's imagination at work. He was suddenly aware of how tired and hungry he was, and hoped that he could find Ruby soon so he could get something to eat.

"Red!" the professor's voice exclaimed. Red's head snapped up, and he spotted the professor hurrying down the hall towards him. "What are you doing here alone? Didn't you hear me? I said everyone needed to stay together!"

"Ruby ran off all of a sudden, and Green and I are searching for him," Red answered. "Are any of the phones working?"

Professor Oak shook his head. "No, none of the phones are working, I'm afraid. But I'll help you search for Ruby. He might be in one of these rooms, hiding."

Red had a bit of a bad experience when it came to checking rooms for missing people. He didn't want to wind up seeing someone dead, but it looked as though he'd have to start checking the rooms if he hoped to find Ruby. Or maybe they could just wait for him to come back. But then he might not come back, and then they'd end up having to check the rooms anyway. Damn it.

Red went to a random door, opened it, and immediately afterwards, his eyes landed on a body that was crumpled up on the floor.

"Ruby!" Red shouted. He bolted across the room, scooping up the boy in his arms. Jutting out of his back was a long piece of wood that came right out of his chest. Without thinking, Red grabbed the piece of wood jutting out.

"No!" the professor shouted. "Don't pull it out!"

His warning came too late, however. Red tore the piece of wood out of Ruby's body, and was surprised to hear a strangled gasp in response. Ruby was still alive!"

"Ruby, Ruby!" Red turned the boy over in his arms so his face was up. "Say something!"

Ruby coughed, and blood splattered down his chin. Red hadn't paid attention to just where the wood had been, but it seemed to have pierced him dangerously close to his heart.

"W-what do I do?!" Red shouted.

"Try to put pressure on the wound!"

But where exactly was Red supposed to put the pressure at? On the wound on his chest or the one on his back? And was that even what you were supposed to do with a wound like this?

Red placed his hand against the wound on Ruby's chest and gently pressed against it. Warm blood bubbled up and coated Red's hand. He pulled his hand back as fast as he could. Maybe he shouldn't have done that.

"Let's bring him downstairs," said Professor Oak. "Hurry!"

Red picked up Ruby's body, and a pain shot through his wrist, the one he'd hurt earlier. Gritting his teeth, Red ran out of the room after the professor. The old man seemed to know exactly where he was going. They found the stairs heading down to the second floor, ran through those halls, until they found the stairs going down to the first floor. Green was waiting down there with Blue and Crystal.

"What happened to him?!" Crystal asked.

"I don't _know!"_ Red shouted. "But he's bleeding a lot, and... and..."

"Put him down on the floor!" Green said. Red hurried down the stairs and nearly dropped Ruby down on the floor. When he pulled his arms away, blood coated the arm that had been supporting Ruby's back.

Red was suddenly aware of just how pale Ruby looked. His eyes wavered back and forth, attempting to focus on the things around him.

"Say something, Ruby!" Red grabbed one of the boy's hands and squeezed it. "Come on, say something, anything! Say fabulous like you always do! Or beautiful, or any of those other weird words you use! _Just say something!"_

Ruby opened his mouth to speak, choked on blood, and turned his head to the side, spatting the blood out.

"What do we do, what do we do?!" Crystal screamed.

"I don't know!"

"All of you, be quiet and let me think!" Green snapped.

"There's no time to think, Ruby's going to die if we don't do something fast!"

"Ruby, hang on!" Red said.

There had to be something, anything, that they could do to save Ruby. Something, something, something, but how were they supposed to deal with a wound like this? Pressure wasn't working, so what else was there to do? What were they supposed to do?!

Ruby opened his mouth to speak again, looking straight at Red. His hat had shifted to the side, showing the ends of two gashes on the side of his forehead. Ruby's grip on Red's hand tightened, and Red squeezed his hand back.

And suddenly, Ruby's hand loosened. The life faded from Ruby's eyes, leaving them dull, empty, clouded over. Red was so shocked by this change that he loosed his grip on Ruby's hand, and it slipped free and fell to the floor.

A hush fell over the group. Crystal clapped her hands over her mouth, tears forming in her eyes. Blue was speechless. Green stared, showing shock, much to Red's surprise.

Red grabbed Ruby's hand again, squeezing it. His hand was frighteningly cold. "Ruby! Come on, Ruby, this isn't funny! This isn't a joke, Ruby! Jokes are Gold's thing, they're Diamond and Pearl's thing, they aren't supposed to be _your_ thing! Come on, Ruby, speak to me! Say something, anything, _please!"_

But all that Red got was silence.

Red released Ruby's hand, and it dropped to the floor again.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Huh. That's the first death that someone actually witnessed.<p>

So I killed off Ruby and Sapphire in the same chapter. Yaaay. Sorry if Ruby's OOC. I still can't find the right way to write him, especially how he would react if Sapphire died.

Incidentally, I've finished this story on my computer. I just need to rewrite the chapters, since I wrote most of them at 3 in the morning, and then this awful story will be finished. Yaaay.

Ruby: Why did you kill me so quickly?

NO, BAD GHOST, GO AWAY! GO AWAY!


	11. Chapter Ten

Author's Notes: So, like, I got Pokémon Adventures volume 15, and I practically squeed over it's very existence. I love Ruby and his fabulousness. He's just so fab.

Anyway, here's the tenth chapter. Technically eleventh if you count the intro chapter. Whateves, yo.

* * *

><p>Chapter Ten<p>

Red lay there on the sofa in the main room, staring up at the ceiling, Ruby's blood on his body.

If... If he hadn't pulled out that piece of wood, Ruby might have had a chance. He might have survived. He might have been okay. But he had to go and pull out that damn piece of wood. He just _had_ to go and do that.

Red wasn't aware of anything going on around him. People came and left the room, but never left Red completely alone, or at least Red didn't think they did. At one point, though, Red noticed that Professor Oak came into the room and covered Ruby's body with a sheet from one of the beds.

"Red," Green's voice said. It was quiet and foggy and barely noticeable. Red blinked a couple of times, his vision coming into focus, and he turned to look up at Green.

"Let's get out of here," he said. Red nodded, somehow managing to push himself up from the couch. Red glanced at the sheet covering Ruby's body.

He didn't know what to say. But worse than the pain of knowing that another one of his friends was dead was the fact that they had died in his own hands.

Why hadn't Red listened to the professor's orders to not remove the piece of wood? It was his own fault that Ruby was dead now. Ruby had not only died in his own hands, but because of his own hands.

"Ruby..." Red mumbled. He glanced down at his arms, finding them trembling, covered in blood. Ruby's blood.

"There's another bathroom upstairs," Green said. "I'll come with you up there."

Red gave a weak nod. They both left, with no protests from the professor, and Green led him to a bathroom on the second floor, past the bathroom that Silver was still in, to a bathroom located by a flight of stairs going up to the third floor.

Green stayed out in the hall while Red hurried to wash the blood off his arms. He scratched frantically at the blood, trying to get it off his skin, but only managed to get it under his fingernails. Red scrubbed with more soap than was actually necessary, desperate to get the blood off of himself. Ruby's blood was on him. He had to get it off.

Red felt horribly close to breaking down right then and there. The pain in his chest was terrible, and he struggled to keep the lump in his throat from rising up.

All of his friends were dying.

Why was this happening?

When Red was sure that all of the blood was gone, he turned off the sink and wiped his raw arms on a nearby towel. His arms were clean, finally.

Red looked back at the mirror above the sink, and was startled to find an extremely pale boy looking back at him with the same expression he wore. Red was taken aback for a moment until he realized that it was just himself. He'd never seen himself so pale before. His black hair was messier than usual, and his eyes were wide in their sockets.

"Done yet?" Green asked, snapping Red out of his trance with his reflection.

"Sorry," Red said. He hurried to leave the bathroom, leaving the light on for reasons he didn't even know.

They headed down the hall and back downstairs. Red heard voices coming from the left hall, and the two headed down that hall until they reached the dining room, where the professor, Blue, and Crystal were at, quietly talking with each other.

"Red, are you okay?" Blue stood from her seat, looking at him with concern on her face.

"Me? I'm fine," Red said. He struggled to smile at Blue, to assure her that he was okay, but he knew that it was a pathetic effort. Blue's doubtful face confirmed his useless efforts. "I just needed to clean myself off a bit."

Then the room fell silent. Thunder rumbled outside, the wind howled, and the windows rattled from the force of the wind. Rain drummed against the building, almost drowning out the sound of the wind itself.

"I... I just want all of this to end," Crystal quietly said. Her voice cracked near the end, and she held her head in her hands as she started to sob.

"Don't we all," Green dully said. Blue shot him a look before hurrying over to Crystal, crouching down beside her and placing an arm around her shoulders.

Red couldn't believe it himself. They were down to four kids and an old man. And he was fairly sure that it wasn't even noon yet. Two people were already dead. Ruby and Sapphire.

He watched Crystal sob, her shoulders trembling, while Blue rubbed her back and mumbled things to her in an attempt to comfort her. Not that there was much comforting that could be done. Nearly all of their friends were dead, after all.

Finally, Professor Oak broke the silence. "If help doesn't arrive by the end of the day, I'm going out into the storm myself," he said. "I'll need to borrow one of your Pokémon in order to fly out of here..."

"You can borrow Aero," Red said. Then, "I just hope Gyara's all right... I hope nothing happened to them."

"We can all just hope that Stephen and your Gyarados are safe and sound," said the professor.

And the room fell into silence again.

"I believe we should all eat something now," Professor Oak said. "None of us have had breakfast yet. We all need food in order to think properly."

No one had any objections to this. Red reluctantly made himself another peanut butter sandwich. He ate it slowly, not caring about the bread and peanut butter that stuck to the roof of his mouth.

He'd never felt so hollow and empty in his entire life. All he wanted to do was be alone, and cry for everyone who was gone now. Emerald and Sharon, Sebastian. Silver, Diamond, Pearl, Yellow. Platinum, Bill, Daisy, Hazuki. Gold. And now Sapphire and Ruby as well.

Red mechanically chewed and swallowed until his entire sandwich was gone. He stared at the dish in front of him, crumbs from the sandwich littering its surface. A sudden wave of anger flooded him, and he stood up from the table, grabbed the plate, and threw it across the table as hard as he could. The plate smashed against the wall, pieces clattering to the floor.

Everyone looked up in surprise.

"Red?" Crystal hesitantly asked. She looked up at him, tears staining her cheeks. She glanced to the left of Red, and then back at him. "Red? Gold's talking to you. He's asking if you're all-"

"Gold isn't talking to me!" Red screamed. He pointed all around the room. "Do you _see_ Gold anywhere in this room? _Do you see him?_ You don't, because Gold is _dead!_ He's dead, just like everybody else is! So stop talking to someone who's not alive anymore! JUST STOP IT ALREADY!"

Crystal looked at him, stunned speechless, looking as if Red had just slapped her across the face. Green was glaring at Red, and Blue looked just as shocked as Crystal did. Professor Oak was completely silent.

"Y... You're lying!" Crystal shouted. "Gold is... He's right next to you!" She pointed at the spot left of Red. "He's sitting right next to you! He's right next to you!"

"No!" Red shouted. "No, he isn't sitting next to me! Gold _died!_ He swallowed a razor blade and _died!_ He's dead, Crystal! You're just seeing things! Because he isn't here anymore, do you understand? _Do you understand?!"_

"No, no, he's right here, he's right next to you, Red, just look and see, he's right there, he really, really is..."

And Crystal suddenly stopped. She stared at the area next to Red. Tears filled her eyes, and started to run down her cheeks. She glanced around the room a few times, then jumped up from her seat and bolted from the room.

Green hurried after her, as did Professor Oak. Blue stood next to Crystal's seat, momentarily stunned, before she turned to Red, anger evident on her features.

"Why did you do that?!" Blue yelled. "Did you have to do that, Red? Couldn't you have just gone along with it?!"

"No, Blue, I wasn't going to just keep going along with it!" Red said. "She was going to have to face it at some point! She couldn't keep going on believing that Gold was still alive!"

"W... What is _wrong_ with you, Red?!"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with _me?!_ Blue, everyone we know is dying! There's a sick freak on this island who's killing every one of us, one by one by one! And you want to know what's wrong with me?!"

Red bit his tongue before he could mention that he wasn't the one who shot three people after seeing Silver was dead.

Blue was silent. She reached up, holding on to one of her arms, and looked off to the side. Red stood there, trying to catch his breath after all of that shouting, until he finally managed to calm down and realize what he'd just done.

"What... did I just do?" Red slowly asked.

"You did what someone was going to do eventually," Blue quietly answered. "Though I'm not sure that your way of telling Crystal was the best way..."

Red sat back down in his seat, staring at the table in front of him. What was wrong with him? He'd just... just snapped, angry at this situation, and ended up taking it out on poor Crystal. She'd just been coping with Gold's death in her own way, and Red... he just had to go and ruin it.

Red placed his hands on his head. He did everything he could to keep himself from crying right there.

He just wanted this to _end._ He didn't want anyone else to die. He didn't want Crystal, or Blue, or Professor Oak, or Green to die.

He heard footsteps approaching, but didn't look up until he felt Blue's arm wrap around his shoulders. "It's okay, Red," she murmured. "We're going to survive this. We'll get out of here safe and sound."

Red looked up at her. "And what if we don't? Then what, Blue?"

Blue had no answer to this.

* * *

><p>Green and his grandfather raced through the halls after Crystal. Green wasn't very surprised that his grandfather could keep up with him; he was fitter than most men of his age.<p>

"Crystal, stop!" Professor Oak shouted. It was useless, though. She wasn't going to stop, and she was already much farther ahead of them. She turned to left, then, and entered a room, slamming the door shut behind herself.

Not before she sent out a Pokémon to guard the door first.

Crystal's Arcanine emerged from its Poké Ball to stand guard in front of the door. The tall dog-like Pokémon snarled at the two approaching, and Green and the professor skidded to a stop. Green watched the Arcanine, yellow fur falling over one of its eyes, sharp white teeth bared in its mouth as it snarled at them.

"...Relax," Green slowly said to it. He inched closer. "We just want to make sure Crystal's all right. We don't want to hurt her."

The Arcanine seemed to consider this for a moment, but resumed snarling at Green. Green could hear Crystal on the other side of the door, sobbing, and hoped nothing bad would happen to her in that room.

Green struggled for a moment to remember the nickname Crystal had given the Pokémon. Maybe if he used its nickname, it would realize he was a friend. But what was its nickname again...?

"Archy... right?" Green said. "Can you let me get to that door? I just want to check on Crystal. Really. I'm not going to hurt her."

After a pause, in which Archy glanced at door, where its sobbing trainer sat behind, Archy nodded. It took a couple of steps back to let Green reach the door. He hurried up to it, and even though he knew it was useless, he tried the doorknob. Of course, it was locked.

"Crystal," Green said. "Come on out."

There was no answer. Green couldn't even think of a sensible reason for her to want to come out. She had every right to want to be alone and cry as much as she wanted.

Archy nuzzled its nose against the door and let out a whine. Green heard something that sounded as though she was rummaging around the room. Then the door flew open, and an arm was around Green, pulling him closer to the girl who had emerged from the room.

Crystal rested her head on Green's chest and cried. Her other hand clutched at her Arcanine's fur. Archy nuzzled its nose against its trainer's head. Green, however, didn't know what he was supposed to do. He supposed that he should pat Crystal's back, like Blue had been doing. So he did just that.

He glanced at his grandfather, finding the old man standing there with an unreadable expression. Green knew that his grandfather knew Crystal well – after all, he'd hired her to catch all of the Pokémon for his research – and he'd also known Gold as well, to some extent. It must have hurt to know that one was dead and the other was in such pain over it.

Green looked away from his grandfather to stare at the room Crystal had been in.

And froze.

Lining the walls were weapons. Guns, swords, knives of all shapes and sizes. Metal shields hung on the walls, and suits of armor stood at random places.

Was this the room that Blue had found the gun? The gun she'd used to kill Yellow, Diamond, and Pearl?

Crystal suddenly shoved Green backwards. He stumbled back in surprise, watching as Crystal stepped back towards the room, reaching into the side of her pants and taking out a black object.

A gun.

He heard the click of the safety lock, and watched as Crystal slowly rose the gun higher. Green didn't dare move towards her. One wrong move, and she could shoot either he or his grandfather.

"Crystal," Green slowly said. "Put that away.

Crystal smiled at him, tears still running down her cheeks. She brought the gun to the side of her head. "I'm sorry," she said. "But I don't... I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want to live, knowing that all of my friends are dead."

Green had to stop her. He ran at her, as did Professor Oak.

"I'm sorry," she quietly said.

She pulled the trigger, and the gun went off with a loud bang.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: You know, Red seems more affected by Ruby's death than he was with Yellow's death. Maybe he and Ruby were gay for each other. I mean, they're both red-themed. They're a natural choice. They're ruby-red. HAHAHA-<p>

Oh, yeah, and Crystal dies.

I can't wait until this thing's finished. Then I can stop disappointing you people who really seem to enjoy this story.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Author's Notes: As much as I'd like to rewrite this chapter for a fifth time, I'm not going to.

Gold: Or you could, you know, just not write it anymore.

You're just angry 'cause I killed you.

* * *

><p>Chapter Eleven<p>

"What was that?"

Red and Blue looked up simultaneously at the sound of a loud bang. The sound echoed throughout the mansion before it slowly faded away. They turned to look at each other.

"Oh, no..." Blue said.

They stood and ran out of the dining room. They headed down the hall, out into the main room, up the flight of stairs, and down the right hallway. Red immediately spotted the large orange form of an Arcanine standing there, and spotted the professor, running towards the Arcanine.

"You guys, what happened?!" Blue shouted.

What had happened? Was Green hurt? What about Crystal? Red couldn't see anyone past the Arcanine, who must have belonged to Crystal.

Then he saw Green back out from behind the Arcanine, unharmed by the looks of it.

"Crystal!" Blue shouted. She suddenly ran even faster, passing Red and running up to Green. Green grabbed both of her arms and attempted to push her back, but he mustn't have been using much force; Blue quickly passed him and let out a loud gasp.

Red slowed to a stop. The Arcanine stepped back, head bowed, and Red saw the scene that the dog-like Pokémon had been blocking.

Crystal lay on the floor, a puddle of blood around her head. A gun lay on the floor, right next to her hand.

Red watched as the Pokémon leaned forward, nuzzling Crystal's lifeless body. The Pokémon wasn't stupid. It had seen what had just happened. It knew that its trainer was gone now.

Red squeezed his eyes shut and turned away from the scene.

Why...

Why was this happening to everyone?

He didn't understand.

He just didn't understand.

* * *

><p>Red's dreams were swarmed with visions of his friends. The dreams started out as mere memories, from training with Gold to being rescued at the Battle Frontier, before it changed to everyone being in a field with a tree, having a small party of sorts.<p>

Yellow was watching Chuchu and Pika sleeping, Gold had just slapped Blue's behind, which earned him a punch in the face from Silver. Green was talking with Bill and Daisy, Emerald was talking with Hazuki, Ruby and Sapphire were arguing over whether Diamond and Pearl's standup routine was funny, and Platinum watched with unusual excitement. Stephen and the professor were laughing about something, and Sharon and Sebastian passed around lunch and drinks.

"Red, Red!" Yellow's voice said. He looked at her. "Aren't Pika and Chuchu cute when they're sleeping together?"

"Yeah. You should draw a picture of them."

Yellow nodded. He watched as she took out her sketchbook and began drawing the two Pokémon. He watched her make several lines with her pencil, making the vague forms of the sleeping Pokémon, before everything slowly faded to black.

Red woke up.

Rain still drummed against the roof. It took Red a moment to realize where he was; in one of the bedrooms, lying on his back on the bed. His neck felt sore already as he sat up, and pain shot through his wrist as he pushed himself up on it. He rubbed his wrist as he looked around the room some more; Green, Blue, and Professor Oak were sitting in a circle on the floor, playing a card game in silence.

"What time is it?" Red asked, catching the three's attention.

"Nearing eight o'clock," the professor answered. He placed down the cards and stood from the floor. "Help hasn't come yet. I'm going to leave for the mainland."

"Oh, right," Red said. "Here's Aero,' he said, taking out his Aerodactyl's Poké Ball and holding it out.

"No," Green interrupted. "My Pidgeot has a better chance of getting through the storm than Aerodactyl."

Red paused, then nodded. Green handed the Poké Ball to his grandfather, who turned to leave the room. The old man stopped in the doorway, looking back at them with a frown on his face.

"I'm not sure I should leave you three alone..."

"We'll be fine, Grandfather," Green said. "We've lasted this far."

That line only served to remind Red that all of his friends aside from Green and Blue were dead now. Gone. There was no getting them back. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to push back the surfacing memories of his friends.

"I suppose you're right," Professor Oak said. "Well. Stay safe, you three. I'll be back shortly."

The professor left the room. Red heard his footsteps, loud in the silent hall, getting further and further away. He heard the front doors open, the wind gusting inside, and then the door shut. He let out a breath he hadn't really he'd been holding. What, had he been expecting that the killer would go and attack the professor right there in the hallway?

"I can't believe it," Blue finally said, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. She held her head in her hands. "It's only been a few days and... nearly everyone is..."

Blue shut her eyes tightly, much like Red had done a moment ago. She reopened them again, letting out a tiny laugh. "I don't even think I know how to cry anymore... I just feel so... so..."

"...empty," Red finished for her.

"Yeah..."

They fell silent again. Green remained where he stood, staring at the floor.

"I'm going to the kitchen," Green suddenly said. He paused. "...Anything you need from there?"

"No..." Blue mumbled.

"I'm not hungry," Red said. In fact, he felt sick to his stomach. Everything that was happening, everything that he'd seen today, was so overwhelming and horrible that he fell nauseous and ill. A cold sweat covered his body, which he was only just now noticing.

Green left the room without another word. Red heard his footsteps go down the hall until they faded away completely. Red's heart thudded in his chest. He looked over at Blue, who sat there on the floor, staring off into space, eyes distant.

Red looked down at his hands. He hadn't realized when, but he'd stopped wearing his insulating gloves at some point. He wondered just where they were. He rubbed his wrist again, but the pain refused to vanish.

If he... If he hadn't said those things to Crystal... she would have never run off like that. She would have never found that room full of weapons, and she wouldn't have shot herself.

He was responsible for two people's deaths today.

How was he going to live with himself? Knowing that he was responsible for something like that, and knowing that nearly all of his friends were dead?

He wished he knew what he was going to do. What he was _supposed_ to do. But he didn't know. He just didn't know.

"I hope the professor comes back soon," Blue quietly said.

"...Yeah..."

They fell silent again. Blue slowly started gathering up the cards that lay on the floor. She straightened the cards out and placed them back in their box. She went to put the box atop one of the drawers.

"We're going to be all alone tonight..." she mumbled. "Just the three of us."

"Yeah..."

"Red." Blue looked at him, urgency in her voice, eyes wide. "What if help doesn't come?" she asked. "What if no one comes to save us?"

"I... I don't know."

Blue suddenly calmed down. "Yeah... I guess... no one knows what's going to happen next... But I'm sure the storm will clear up soon. Then it'll be safe for us to leave and get help."

"Yeah."

Green came back into the room with a glass of water and a few sandwiches, which he shared with Red and Blue. Even though Red was still nauseous, he ate anyway.

"I think..." Blue said, as she finished her own sandwich. "I think I'm going to go take a shower..."

Red stared at her blankly.

"What? Now? Why?"

"I think it'll help calm my nerves," she said. Then she smiled slyly, in that way that Red had come to associate with whenever Blue was up to something. "I don't need you two to come along. Wouldn't want you sneaking a peek at me in the shower or something."

Red felt his cheeks heat up. "I-I wouldn't do that!"

Green sighed. "Pesky girl..."

Red still wasn't too sure about letting Blue leave alone, to the bathroom. After all, the last time one of them had decided to bathe, they wound up in a tub of acid. But Blue reassured him him that she would have all of her Pokémon stand guard at the door.

So Green and Red let her leave.

Red sat on the bed he'd been sleeping on earlier, and Green sat on the bed opposite of him. Though they faced one another, neither stared at the other. Red stared at his own hands, pale and shaking, despite his attempting to make them stop.

Just earlier, his hands had been covered in Ruby's blood.

He was suddenly aware that there was blood on his shirt. Oh, no. It had to be... it had to be Ruby's blood. He needed to go change. He had to get out of this damn shirt.

Red hurried to his bag on the floor, pulling it open and searching through for a clean shirt. In fact, he didn't even care if it was clean. Just something that wasn't covered in blood.

As Red pulled out a shirt and started changing his shirt, he let his mind wander. Who was the one behind these murders? Just who was it that was taking joy in killing each and every one of them? Was it Stephen? Was it even someone they knew? Was the murderer even human?

Red glanced back at Green. What if... what if the killer was Green? He hadn't seemed very bothered by all of these deaths. Not even Crystal, who'd shot herself in front of him.

Could the killer be Green? Could he be stuck in this very room at this very minute with a killer?

Immediately, Red felt like punching himself. How could he suspect that his best friend was the killer? What was _wrong_ with him?

"Red."

Red looked up to find Green staring at him intently.

"I've been thinking."

"About what?" asked Red.

Green was silent for a moment. As if he was considering on whether or not he should tell Red what he was thinking.

"Red," he said, "I've been thinking about who the murderer is."

"...Oh."

Weird. They'd both been thinking the same thing at the same time. Red wondered if Green had also considered him to be the killer, just like he'd just done.

Red waited for Green to continue, but it didn't seem like he was going to unless Red asked him. "So, what about it?"

"I've been thinking about the identity of the killer," Green said.

"I got that part. I was thinking about it too. Do you... do you think it's Stephen? I mean, he's the most suspicious of us all, and he hasn't come back yet, and-"

Green held up his hand to silence Red. Then he said, "I don't think it's Stephen."

This came as a surprise to Red. "Then who do you think it is?"

"Red. Who was it that invited us all to the island?"

Red had to think for a brief moment. "...Professor Oak," he said. He frowned. "But Green-" Green held up his hand to silence him a second time.

"And who was it that's been instructing us all on what to do?"

"Professor Oak," Red said again. "But Green! Everything he did was for our safety! He told us to stick together no matter what, and told us to never stay alone somewhere, and... Why would... Why would you suspect your own grandpa?"

"Red," Green said. "Do we even have proof that Grandfather left the building?"

They stared at each other.

"You don't think he's still here, do you?" Red asked. "I-I mean... He went to go get help. He took your Pidgeot to go get help. Green, he can't be the killer! He's just an old guy!"

"Red, just think for a moment," Green said. "Grandfather went out with Stephen when he went to go get help. Stephen hasn't come back.

"Grandfather was gone when Ruby left the room and got hurt. You didn't seem him trying to help with Ruby while he was dying, did you?"

"He... He told me to put pressure on the wound..."

"Do you really think putting pressure on a wound like that would help?"

Red suddenly found to extremely difficult to swallow. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. But... But it was just a theory, wasn't it? Professor Oak couldn't be the killer. He was... He was...

"And when Crystal was crying in front of us earlier, I noticed something else," Green said. "Grandfather knows Crystal well. You think he would have been upset, seeing someone he knew so well in such grief. But he wasn't. He just watched with absolutely no expression. He didn't seem bothered when Crystal shot herself, either. He may have acted like he wanted to stop her, but his face showed nothing.

"He hasn't been bothered by anybody's deaths."

Red couldn't do anything but stare at Green, trying to wrap his mind around everything he was being told.

Professor Oak was the killer? Could it be true? Could the old man really be responsible for so many people's deaths?

"If... he didn't leave the building, then..." Red began. "Then... Then..."

They looked at each other again, and Red was surprised to see Green's eyes widen just a bit. He apparently hadn't remembered the third person who was in danger.

"Blue!"

Red was out of the room in an instant, Green right on his heels. They raced out into the main room, up the stairs, and stopped at the split path.

"You go right, I'll go left," Green said.

Red nodded, taking off down the right hallway. His heart thundered in his chest as he raced through the halls, and he barely heard the sound of his feet on the floor over the sound of his heart. He skidded to a stop at the end of the hall, finding that nothing was there.

Then he remembered.

There was a bathroom at the end of the hall Green had gone down.

Red turned and ran back down the hall, hoping he would reach it in time. Blue had to be okay. She couldn't be dead. And... and they didn't even know if the professor was really the culprit. It could have still been Stephen! It could have been anyone!

He reached the left hallway and ran down it. He didn't even get halfway down the hall before he skidded to a stop.

Green lay face down on the floor, a large spot of blood quickly forming on his back. Red heard the sound of a shower running, spotted the bodies of Pokémon at the corner where the bathroom was.

And standing right behind Green, cleaning off a bloodied knife, was the culprit.

And it wasn't Stephen.

It was Professor Oak.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: OH COME ON. YOU'RE ALL THE DUMBEST (insert word of your choice here) PEOPLE EVER.<p>

I should be ashamed for making them act like this. I SHOULD BE ASHAMED.

Aw, well, we found out who the culprit is. Not like you guys didn't see this coming.

...Or did you? *dunduuuuun*


	13. Chapter Twelve

Author's Notes: I knew right from the beginning who the culprit was. Mwahahaha. Now we find out the professor's reason for doing what he did, and, uh. Uh. Uhhhh.

You know, the only thing I was thinking of while I wrote this chapter was that Blue was attacked while taking a shower. Which means she was naked. Which, uh, is apparently the only thing on my mind.

Welp, we've got one more chapter to go.

* * *

><p>Chapter Twelve<p>

"P... Professor Oak."

Red was speechless. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Professor Oak was the killer. He stood right in front of Red, wearing gloves, wiping the bloodied blade clean.

The only thing he could ask was, "Why?"

"Hello, Red," the professor said conversationally. He turned the knife around in his hands a few times, examing the mostly clean blade. Blood streaks still marred its surface. "Well, it appears as though you're the last, my boy."

"Why?" Red repeated. Then, "_How?"_

"It was all really quite simple," Professor Oak said. "I started with Emerald, as you already know. An undeserving brat, in my opinion. I hid in the shower while he went to the bathroom. I emerged as he left, he tried to run, and I struck the back of his head. His fingers hit the spikes I'd set up beforehand, but which he had stepped over on his way to the bathroom.

"It was rather careless of me, really, to have dragged his body back into the bathroom. I wasn't expecting anyone, certainly not you, to notice the streak of blood on the floor that showed he'd been dragged back in.

"Now then, Sharon. Her death would have been later, had she not been a witness to Emerald's death. She saw me dragging him back into the bathroom and ran. I chased her, caught her, and hid her in one of the rooms to make it seem like a suicide.

"Sebastian, like Sharon, may have had his death postponed. I set up the trap in the kitchen overnight, while everyone was sleeping. He just happened to be the one who entered the kitchen first.

"In the case of Silver, I waited until he left the bathroom. I filled the bath water with acid from a Muk. I turned off the tub so the bathtub was filled with more acid than water. Silver almost avoided death, but he had to go and examine the tub. I wore gloves to protect me while I drowned him in the tub.

"Yellow, Diamond, and Pearl's deaths were completely unexpected. I planned to save Yellow for the very end, but things just didn't turn out that way.

"Platinum was an interesting case. I had a Gengar choke her with her scarf, then had it move her out of the room and into your closet, Red.

"Hazuki, Bill, and Daisy. Another case where Pokémon prove to be more helpful than people would think. That same Gengar locked them in the room, while I had a Parasect fill the room with Stun Spore and Poison Powder. Did you know, Red, that inhaling either of those in such amounts will result in instant death? Humans have a lower tolerance for it than Pokémon do.

"Gold was quite simple, and his death may have occurred sooner if he'd drank his water earlier. It was a simple task to slip a blade into his drink. He's so reckless that he wouldn't be quick enough to stop the blade before he swallowed it.

"Sapphire was an easy target. I was awake when she got out of bed, and by herself, mind you. I followed her, and used a Machamp as my means of attack. Four arms instead of two to attack... She didn't stand a chance.

"Ruby. Now, Ruby was just pure luck. I heard approaching footsteps and hid in a room. He happened to enter the very room I was in. An Alakazam cast illusions on the unsuspecting boy, and I attacked him with a piece of wod that happened to be in the room. I left the room as quickly as possible, careful to not move him from the floor this time, and made sure to 'conveniently' meet up with you and help with your search."

Red couldn't believe everything he was hearing. All that he could think of... was that the professor was the killer. The professor was the killer.

"Ah, yes, I quite nearly forgot about Stephen," Professor Oak said. He chuckled. "He trusted me completely. Thought I was a friend. I killed him when we reached the ocean with a stone from the path."

The professor was the killer. _The professor was the killer._

"And now for the deaths of your two final friends." Professor Oak shook his head, almost regretfully. "It was really quite foolish on your part to let Blue go alone. She may have used her Pokémon as guards, but it was a simple task to knock them out. I strangled her in the shower, when Green came in and saw. Now, I really couldn't let him go and join you and tell you that I was the killer, could I? We all know what happened to Green." He gestured to the brown-haired boy who lay on the floor, motionless.

No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. This couldn't be happening. This had to be a dream. It couldn't be real. No, no, no, _no._

"Why?" Red asked, voice trembling as he spoke. "Why would you do this? Why would you kill your own family?"

Professor Oak sighed. "Red, Red, Red... Well, I supose you've the right to an answer. I'll tell you.

"You know my dream. To make an encyclopedia on all the Pokémon in existence... It was my dream for as long as I could remember.

"But everyone says I'm too old now. A simple old man who needs the help of young children to help complete that task. With every one of you who received a Pokédex, it was just another reminder to myself that my dream was slowly dying away.

"I must say, however, that there was an upside to this. I would never have had the help of all of these Pokémon if Crystal and her expert capturing skills hadn't caught them for my research. I suppose that handing out the Pokédexes to you all wasn't for nothing."

Red couldn't speak. He finally found the words. "You... did all of this... because of something as _stupid_ as that?!" he screamed. "You killed so many people... because a bunch of kids took over your _dream?!_ _That's_ why you did all of this?!"

Professor Oak's face darkened. "You wouldn't understand," he said. "You're far too young to understand. And you'll never be able to find out now."

He tightened his grip on the knife's handle. "Let's see... What story shall I give the police? Red, champion of the Pokémon League, driven mad by insane jealousy, murders fellow Dex holders and comrades to prove that he's the best. Yes, that seems appropriate. And Professor Samuel Oak defeats the mad killer in order to protect himself and avenge the deaths of his grandchildren."

The professor nodded his head a few times. "Yes, that seems about right. Now, then..."

The knife almost seemed to gleam in the dim, flickering lights of the hall.

"Say goodbye, Red of Pallet Town."

And Red was running down the hall. He didn't know where he was going. He just knew he had to run, because his life actually depended on it this very second.

Footsteps thundered down the hall after him. Red jumped down the entire flight of stairs to the main room, feeling a horrible pain rocket through his ankle. He caught himself from falling and kept running, nearly falling over where Ruby's body lay.

He had to go to the kitchen. That was the safest place. He could get a weapon. He could protect himself. It was the only way right now, the only thing he could think of, that could possibly save him.

Red ran down the hall, aware of how much slower he was running now. The professor was going to catch him. He never stood a chance at all, he realized. He'd been underestimating the professor's physical capabilities. The professor was much faster than he'd thought.

Pain shot through his foot with every step he took. But he didn't stop. He didn't dare stop running.

Something yanked on the back of his shirt, and a strangled cry escaped Red's lip. Something slashed at his right arm. Pain spread through it instantly. He pulled himself free of the professor's grasp and stumbled forwards. He broke into a run, the professor right at his heels as he reached the swinging door to the kitchen.

Red slammed through the door, felt his legs catch on something, and pitched forward. He hit the ground, hard, on his shoulder. All he could do now was brace himself for certain death.

There was a loud thud, and suddenly, something heavy was laying on Red's body. Hot liquid poured over him, spreading across his neck and chest.

But it wasn't his own blood. It was Professor Oak's.

The professor lay on top of him, head almost completely detached from his body.

Red's eyes darted around, trying to see what had happened. His eyes landed on the culprit.

The beheading trap in the kitchen that had caught Sebastian. The professor... he must have set it back up.

He clearly hadn't considered getting caught by the trap himself.

Everything suddenly registered into Red's brain. He shoved the dead old man off his body and scrambled back until one of his hands touched the sheet that covered Sebastian's body. Another wave of panic shot through him, and he scrambled in a different direction.

He leaned back against the kitchen counter, still sitting on the floor. He tried to gather up everything that had just happened.

Professor Oak had killed everyone. And now he was dead.

Red sat there for a long, long moment.

Finally, every single thing that had happened took its toll on Red. Sobs shook his body, and he gasped for air, sitting there in the kitchen with two dead bodies, sitting in an entire mansion filled with dead people.

This couldn't be happening.

Everyone couldn't be dead.

He couldn't be the only one alive.

Red sat there in the kitchen for a long time. Finally, he stood and left the kitchen. A strange feeling overcame him, as if he were having an out-of-body experience, as he mechanically moved down the hall.

He reached the main room and simply flopped down on the couch. He must have fallen asleep, because he suddenly opened his eyes and saw, via an ancient-looking clock in the corner, that it was almost seven. In the morning, or at night? He couldn't even tell anymore.

Sitting up, everything that had happened the past few days hit him again, a new flood of tears overcame him. He sat there on the couch, head in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably, until he finally came to a decision.

He went to the bathroom Emerald was in. His Poké Balls were attached to his waist, still, even after all of this time. Delicately, he removed all of the red and white balls. Then he left the room.

He repeated this process, gathering all of the Poké Balls from all of the people who had them. He went to his room, got his backpack, and stuffed all of them in there. He remembered Gyara then. The Gyarados must have still been outside. If his Poké Ball hadn't been swept away, that is.

Red, without a coat on, left the mansion and started through the storm. The wind whipped at his body, the rain stinging as it made contact with his skin, and Red could barely keep himself standing upright. He headed down on the path leading from the mansion. The trees surrounding him were nearly bent in half from the force of the wind.

The ocean waves slammed against the shore. It was unreal to think that, just a few days ago, they'd been playing in those waves without a care in the world.

Red stopped, shielding his eyes, and scanned the shore. He spotted Stephen's body, lying face down on the sand.

And there it was. Lodged in the sand, somehow managing to be safe throughout these past days, was Gyara, in his Poké Ball. Red was suddenly overcome with joy as he ran down the beach and plucked the ball from the sand. Gyara looked up at him, but Red could barely seen his Pokémon's form through the rain that was falling.

Red ran back to the mansion, letting out a sigh of relief as he reached the building and pushed the doors shut. He sank down to the floor, gazing at Gyara's Poké Ball, which rocked back and forth with the blue and white serpent's movements.

"Hey there, Gyara," he said, voice hoarse. Gyara's Poké Ball continued rocking back and forth. "Gyara, I... I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Gyara. I really am, buddy."

He held Gyara's Poké Ball for just a little bit longer. Then he stood from the floor and hooked the Poké Ball to his waist.

He had to reach land. He had to get help.

Red searched through the rooms again until he found a pad of paper and a pen. Sitting back out in the main room, he began to write a letter. His hand hurt so much that he could barely write, and the worst part was that he felt as if he didn't even _know_ how to write anymore. His hand trembled violently as he made shaky letter after shaky letter.

He finished the letter, signing it with his name. He placed his head against the cool pad of paper, listening to the ticking clock and the howling wind.

He had to do this. Red couldn't give in now.

He went to get the backpack with all of the Poké Balls in it and stuck the note in the front pocket. For a split second, he saw all of the Pokémon, looking up at him in confusion. He knew what they were thinking.

What had happened to their trainers?

What was Red going to do now?

"Guys, I'm going to go and get help," Red said to them. "Just... just wait here. I'll be back as soon as I can. We'll get out of here safe and sound."

He went out into the storm again. Rushing down the stone path, he reached the dock where they'd arrived at. He tossed Gyara's Poké Ball into the air, and the tall Pokémon emerged in the ocean waves. The Pokémon let out a roar, then turned to look down at Red.

"We're heading for Vermillion," he said. Gyara nodded, bending his head to allow Red to get on it.

Then they were heading through the storm. Red held on tight to Gyara, trying not to let go. He hoped he would reach Vermillion. He had to get help.

As they braved through the store, Red's thoughts wandered.

It was supposed to be a normal vacation.

People weren't supposed to start dying.

_This wasn't supposed to happen._

Red clenched his teeth together. He couldn't understand it. Why had this happened to them? Had they done something to deserve it? In Professor Oak's eyes, at least, they certainly had.

Red spotted something in the distance. Was it land? It looked like it. Red felt his heart leap into his throat, and he tried to shout to Gyara that they were approaching land.

A roaring sound behind him made Red turn around.

An enormous wave was rising up behind them.

"Gyara!" he shouted. "Watch out!"

The wave slammed down on them. Suddenly, Red was no longer on Gyara. He was falling through the air.

Suddenly, through the rain, Red spotted something.

Land. Right in front of him.

Red collided with the pavement, and everything went black.

* * *

><p>He opened one eye.<p>

He couldn't move. His head hurt so much. He couldn't feel his body. There was blood in his mouth.

Red was aware of something else.

Voices all around him.

And it was no longer raining.

His eye flickered to the sky. The dark clouds were parting, the rain had stopped, and he could see the sun. The hurricane was over.

…Oh

So this was the last thing he was going to see.

"...aramedics! Hurry!"

"Is he okay? Is he alive?"

"Everyone, we need you to back away! We'll..."

The voices faded away completely.

Red let a faint smile tug at his lips.

Then he closed his eye and let the darkness overtake him.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Sorry if the action was a bit unclear. I'm bad at action-y scenes, and this was no exception. And I know Red's acting out of character, but hey, when twenty-something people die in a matter of days, I'm sure anyone would cry multiple times.<p>

I always planned to use that line Professor Oak says in the video games in this chapter. The "to make an encyclopedia on all the Pokémon in the world... that was my dream!" line. It always kind of made me think the professor really regretted leaving it up to a kid to do it for him. I'm probably reading too much into it, because that's what I tend to do when I read anything, but, yeah.

Shooooo, next and final chapter should be done by today, unless I suffer from a massive brain fart and forget. I tend to do that.


	14. Epilogue

Author's Notes: I don't know why I bothered writing this. I guess I felt like I needed to let everyone know that _everyone, _Red included, was dead.

And also, we get a Black and White cameo, so, uh, yeah.

* * *

><p>Epilogue<p>

Red watched his mother sob uncontrollably.

The funeral for all of the deceased took place all together at the same time. Red wasn't too sure as to why, as he hadn't been there to witness the decision.

He watched as the coffins were slowly lowered into the ground. Quite a few of them had been cremated, but they had their own coffins as well. For some other reason that Red still couldn't understand.

Red watched his Pokémon stand silently alongside his mother. They watched as the coffin slowly sank down into the ground. It pained him to see his Pokémon like that, but there was nothing he could do.

Random people who Red didn't know came and offered their condolences to the families gathered there. The Gym Leaders were there too, Red noticed. Misty was, like his mother, sobbing. Brock had an arm around her shoulders, and Erika stood next to them, wiping her eyes.

The people all dressed in black stood there for a while, and Red continued to watch. He was one of the deceased, after all. He never thought, though, that he would ever witness his own funeral like this.

"Red?" a voice behind him said. Red turned. Green stood there, along with everyone else who had been on the island with them. Everyone except Professor Oak, that is. Red didn't know where he was, and he didn't care, either.

"Ready to leave?"

"Sure, just a sec," said Red. He turned back to his mother and his Pokémon. He smiled.

"Bye, guys. And... I'm sorry..."

Pika looked up in surprise. Ears twitching, he looked behind himself. The other Pokémon followed his lead, turning to stare at where Red stood.

They couldn't see him. But Red hoped that they had somehow heard his last words to them.

Red waved goodbye to them.

He turned and walked away with all of his friends.

* * *

><p>"Next up on Dateline UBC: An unsolved mystery in the Kanto region. The mysterious murders of twenty people. A simple vacation that turned into the worst possible scenario..."<p>

"Huh?"

A brown-haired boy stared at the TV in vague surprise as he approached a girl wearing a pink and white baseball cap, her bushy hair pulled up into a ponytail. "What's up, Boss? What'cha watching?"

"Oh, Black! Hey, you remember that incident in Kanto, right? The one where that Professor Oak guy was murdered along with nineteen other people?"

Black thought for a moment. Now that she mentioned it, he supposed that he remembered something like that happening. He remembered that the champion of the Pokémon League in Kanto had died then. "Oh, yeah, that. I sorta remember it..."

"Well, they're getting ready to have a TV special about it," the girl said. "As your boss, I order you to watch it! The reenactments that they'll be doing should include Pokémon actors. Someday, they'll be using Pokémon from the BW Agency in programs like this one!"

Black turned to look at the TV, which was currently displaying commercials for various products and movie trailers.

He shrugged. Well, it's not like it concerned him. He might as well as go to bed. Watching a TV program like this one wasn't going to help him with his dream to conquer the Unova League.

As he turned around and walked away, he caught a glimpse of something red, white, and black, standing in the corner. When he turned to take a look, it was gone.

What was that?

With another shrug, he continued on to go to bed.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Annnnnnd, we're finished! Sorry if Black and White were out of character... I don't have a very good grasp on their characters yet. Also, what the hell is Red doing in Unova? (That was supposed to be a glimpse of Red, by the way... I know it's not clear, and it's stupid, but hey, I needed something to, uh, throw in.)<p>

It's weird. I didn't realize I started this story in 2011. I could've sworn I started it in 2012. But, hey, life's full of surprises.

Maybe I should move on to a light-hearted Pokéspe story next... And rewrite some of the earlier chapters of this... Hmm...

I'll take this moment to thank everyone who put up with this story. I tend to thank everyone at the end of things that took a long time. I mean, so many people reviewed this, faved it, and followed it. I know I sucked at updating, but I suck at keeping to a schedule unless someone's there to force me to keep to it. So-

Gold: I cannot believe you killed each and every one of us.

...That's all, folks. Loveon, out.


End file.
